Soil properties largely control the fate of mercury (Hg), including the synthesis of neurovirulent methylmercury (MeHg). Here, the freshwater snail (Cipangopaludina cahayensis), a snail species commonly bred in flooded farmland, was used in a test of biotoxicity exposure to explore the effects of soil components on Hg bioavailability. The results show that snails incubated on the surface of slightly Hg-polluted flooded soil (2.0 mg/kg) have MeHg concentrations of 7.9 ± 1.5 mg/kg, which greatly exceed the limit of contaminants in food in China (0.5 mg/kg). The addition of ferrous disulfide can significantly increase the MeHg concentrations in soils while reducing the concentrations of total Hg (THg) and MeHg levels in snails by 59.1% and 64.3%, respectively. Peat-derived fulvic acid has the capacity to reduce the MeHg concentrations in soils and snails by 23.8% and 33.2%, respectively, whereas it increases the dissolved Hg levels in overlying water by 104.3%. Moreover, Fe-Mn oxides and humic acid can consistently reduce THg and MeHg concentrations in snails. Overall, freshwater snails bred in Hg-polluted areas may suffer from a high risk of Hg exposure, and importantly, some soil components such as ferrous disulfide and humic acid have strong inhibitory effects on Hg bioaccumulation in snails.
Keywords: Bioavailability; Methylmercury; Snail; Soil composition.