Determination of mercury in finger nails and body hair

Helsby, Christine A.

doi:10.1016/s0003-2670(01)84621-3

Cited by 10 publications

(4 citation statements)

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“…Such hairs have different growth rates, are exposed to different amounts of sweat, and are usually covered by clothing and have different concentrations of mercury. For example, in dentists, the ranges of mercury concentrations for head hair, axillary hair and pubic hair were 1.02-10.0 ppm, 0.61-3.1 ppm and 0.85-2.56 ppm, respectively (26). Throughout this paper, unless stated otherwise, "hair" refers to head hair.…”

Section: Samplingmentioning

confidence: 97%

Mercury in human hair due to environment and diet: a review.

Airey¹

1983

Environ Health Perspect

106

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Hair mercury levels increase with the amount of fish in the diet and the amount of mercury in the fish species consumed. If hair mercury levels in people throughout the world were monitored by a standard analytical procedure, the results would indicate locations where people's body burden of mercury is high enough to be subclinically unhealthy and where controls on environmental emissions might be beneficial. The relationship of hair mercury concentration to the method of sampling and analysis of hair, the analysis of the results, the amount of fish consumed, the country and location from which samples were taken and the age, sex and occupation of the donor is discussed.

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Section: Samplingmentioning

confidence: 97%

Mercury in human hair due to environment and diet: a review.

Airey¹

1983

Environ Health Perspect

106

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“…It is well documented that dentists and dental personnel who work with amalgam are chronically exposed to Hg vapor, which accumulates in their bodies to much higher levels than for most nonoccupationally exposed. Their exposure to inorganic Hg comes from several sources, e.g., accidental spills, storage of Hg and amalgam scrap, preparation 10.1 191/0960327105ht54loa and insertion of amalgam fillings and removal of old fillings.5 In recent years, great interest in Hg toxicity and considerable speculation about its danger in dental usage have emerged. Hg vapor has been regarded as a hazard, not only to dental professionals working in a restricted environment where metallic Hg vapor is constantly present, but also to patients with dental amalgams.6 Symptoms reported may be related to occupational exposure in the workplace and to the contribution from the individuals' own amalgam fillings.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…It is well-known that Hg constitutes a potential risk to people in the dental surgery, mainly from the inhalation of Hg vapor and fine particles of amalgam.7 Hg vapor arising from spills on the floor is probably the major cause of Hg contamination.5 Studies showed that Hg levels in the ambient air of a proportion of dental surgeries exceeded recommended limits and some dental personnel excrete greater amounts of Hg in their urine,8'9 and have higher concentrations in their hair and nails. 10 Dentists can be affected by Hg sensitization. There are many documented cases of contact dermatitis among dentists sensitized to Hg.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Examination of urinary mercury levels in dentists in Turkey

2005

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Mercury (Hg) is a naturally occurring element and its toxicity, especially in certain forms, has been known for many years. Exposure to Hg can occur in occupational and environmental settings. The toxicity of Hg compounds in dentistry has been an issue of increasing concern. Dental personnel are occupationally exposed to Hg vapor in their working environment and this exposure constitutes a potential risk to people in the dental surgery, mainly from the inhalation of Hg vapor and fine particles of amalgam. In this study, the urinary Hg excretion levels of 20 dentists and nine control subjects, matched for age, were determined by cold-vapor atomic absorption spectrometer (CV-AAS). The levels of Hg in the urine samples of the dentists was about three times higher than the control subjects (6.29±3.5 and 1.979±0.9 μg/L, respectively) (P B < 0.001). Some 90% of dentists wore both gloves and masks. Standards of hygiene (use of mask, glove and gown) may contribute to the degree of exposure. Attention to important hygiene measures, such as the avoidance of spills of Hg, cleaning of floors after such spills, ventilation and the installation of ventilation, depending on technology, should be taken into consideration. Age and smoking habits did not influence the urinary Hg excretion. Our results showed that dentists had significant exposure to Hg vapor compared to control subjects and therefore might be subject to possible adverse effects due to Hg toxicity.

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“…The results of this survey provided population-based data on hair mercury concentrations for women and children in the USA and showed that values were associated with age and frequency of fish consumption. Studies in occupational dental workers have shown that toenail mercury concentrations were lower than amounts obtained from fingernails and scalp hair and may be due to the fact that toenails are relatively free from external contamination except in barefoot people [61][62][63]. Compositional differences in hair and nail sulfur content and a relatively poor supply of blood flow to nails as reflected in their slow growth rate compared to hair may also be contributing factors for different levels of mercury in these samples [64].…”

Section: In Addition To Cam Products Used In This Case Whatmentioning

confidence: 99%