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Human activity is causing toxic thallium to enter the Baltic sea, according to new study - EurekAlert

<p>&nbsp;</p> <p>&bull;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Human activities account for 20% to more than 60% of toxic thallium entering the Baltic Sea&nbsp; over the past eight decades, according to new research by scientists affiliated with the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution and other institutions.</p> <p>&bull;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Currently, the amount of thallium, which is considered the most toxic metal for mammals, remains low in Baltic seawater. Much of the thallium in the Baltic, which is the largest human-induced hypoxic area on Earth, has been accumulated in the sediment thanks to sulfide minerals.</p> <p>&bull;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; The amount of thallium could increase more due to further anthropogenic activities or due to natural or human re-oxygenation of the sea that could make the Baltic less sulfide rich.</p> <p>&bull;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; It would be &ldquo;highly coincidental&rdquo; if an observed increase in the amount of the heavier thallium stable isotope ²⁰⁵Tl was not associated with the &ldquo;nearly contemporaneous trends linked to human &nbsp;activities,&rdquo; according to the journal article.</p> <p>&bull;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Though the exact sources of the thallium increase are not yet known, the article indicates that regional cement production, which was enhanced after the end of World War II, may play an important role, with other possible sources including coal combustion and the roasting of pyrite, an iron sulfide.</p>

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