A Biomonitoring Study of Lead, Cadmium, and Mercury in the Blood of New York City Adults

Abstract

ObjectivesWe assessed the extent of exposure to lead, cadmium, and mercury in the New York City (NYC) adult population.MethodsWe measured blood metal concentrations in a representative sample of 1,811 NYC residents as part of the NYC Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, 2004.ResultsThe geometric mean blood mercury concentration was 2.73 μg/L [95% confidence interval (CI), 2.58–2.89]; blood lead concentration was 1.79 μg/dL (95% CI, 1.73–1.86); and blood cadmium concentration was 0.77 μg/L (95% CI, 0.75–0.80). Mercury levels were more than three times that of national levels. An estimated 24.8% (95% CI, 22.2–27.7%) of the NYC adult population had blood mercury concentration at or above the 5 μg/L New York State reportable level. Across racial/ethnic groups, the NYC Asian population, and the foreign-born Chinese in particular, had the highest concentrations of all three metals. Mercury levels were elevated 39% in the highest relative to the lowest income group (95% CI, 21–58%). Blood mercury concentrations in adults who reported consuming fish or shellfish 20 times or more in the last 30 days were 3.7 times the levels in those who reported no consumption (95% CI, 3.0–4.6); frequency of consumption explained some of the elevation in Asians and other subgroups.ConclusionsHigher than national blood mercury exposure in NYC adults indicates a need to educate New Yorkers about how to choose fish and seafood to maximize health benefits while minimizing potential risks from exposure to mercury. Local biomonitoring can provide valuable information about environmental exposures.

National estimates of blood lead, cadmium, and mercury levels in the Korean general adult population

“…The geometric mean of the blood cadmium levels of men (1.57 lg/L) and women (1.49 lg/L) in KNHANES III is similar to that found in a 1992 field study of Korean subjects (Yeon et al 1992): 1.80 and 1.50 lg/L, respectively. Our geometric mean cadmium levels in both genders were slightly lower than those in the Japanese general population (Ikeda et al 1994(Ikeda et al , 2000aKurihara et al 2004) but were two-to fourfold higher than those in the US population (McKelvey et al 2007;Tellez-Plaza et al 2008) and other south Asian populations (Zhang et al 1999).…”

“…Several previous surveys (Berode et al 1991;Pirkle et al 1994;Batariova et al 2006;Menke et al 2006;McKelvey et al 2007;Saraiva et al 2007) found that the blood lead levels were higher in men than in women due to higher lead exposure and higher blood hematocrit levels, which is due to lead in blood being bound to erythrocytes (WHO 1995;Vahter et al 2002). We also found that the blood lead level differed significantly with gender, being 30% higher in men than in women.…”

“…The growing concern about exposure to environmental pollutants in Korea provided the impetus for including human biomonitoring of lead, cadmium, and mercury in the Third Korean Health and Nutrition Examination Survey National surveillance of the exposure to toxic substances is essential for identifying and targeting high-risk groups, evaluating interventions, tracking exposure over time, and monitoring exposure during emergency situations Iqbal et al 2008;McKelvey et al 2007). Furthermore, it is necessary to make international comparisons of environmental exposure levels, since they can vary significantly between countries.…”

Applications of ICP‐MS in Human Biomonitoring Studies

“…Other methods of sample preparation for blood are dilution with HNO 3 [9,10] or tetra methyl ammonium hydroxide (TMAH) [11]. Digestion of blood and serum samples was performed with HNO 3 by pressure ashing in an oven [12], by wet digestion with a mixture of HNO 3 /H 2 O 2 in glass vessels at 100 C [13], by UV digestion with HNO 3 /H 2 O 2 [14] or by microwave (MW)-assisted high-pressure digestion with HNO 3 [15].…”

“…Some of these applications have their focus on the analytical method development and the ensuing analytical problems [12,17,24], whereas other ICP-MS applications describe results of biomonitoring studies with an epidemiological and statistical discussion [27,30]. Both aspects may also be present [8,10,15,35].…”