The extensive mercury contamination in soil and legacy sediments of the Paglia River basin (Tuscany, Italy): interplay between Hg-mining waste discharge along rivers, 1960s economic boom, and ongoing climate change

The extensive Hg contamination in soil and sediments occurring along the Paglia River (Central Italy) is the result of the interplay between the geomorphological changes of the river and anthropic activities, primarily associated to the exploitation of Hg-deposits in “The Monte Amiata mining district” (MAMD). The present study determines the implications of the morphological changes that occurred along the Paglia River in the last 200 years on the distribution of Hg along the floodplain and riverbed, which today represent one of the main Hg-reservoirs in the MAMD.