High Hair and Urinary Mercury Levels of Fish Eaters in the Nonpolluted Environment of Papua New Guinea

Abe, Teruo; Ohtsuka, Ryutaro; Hongo, Tetsuro; Suzuki, Tsuguyoshi; Tohyama, Chiharu; Nakano, Atsuhiro; Akagi, Hirokatsu; Akimichi, Tomoya

doi:10.1080/00039896.1995.9935969

Cited by 46 publications

(21 citation statements)

References 15 publications

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“…Although our data involve only THg measurements, they are consistent with the previous study in this region, indicating higher concentrations of methyl Hg in HSH samples from fish consumer as compared to non-consumer groups [24]. In other parts of the world, the mean hair THg levels of fish eaters were found markedly higher than the non-fish eaters, e.g., 21.9 µg/g in the Lake Murray area and 0.75 µg/g in the upperStrickland area of Papua New Guinea, around 4.07 and 0.38 µg/g in Hong Kong [17,71].…”

Section: Sedimentmentioning

confidence: 96%

“…Fish, extensively used in marine pollution monitoring programs, are important in human diet, and therefore, have been subjected to numerous studies [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12]. Complementary studies have been carried out on metal levels at sediment and human scalp hair (hereafter referred to as HSH) in critically polluted coastal regions throughout the world [13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20] and Turkey [21][22][23][24].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Metals (Hg, Pb, Cu, and Zn) Bioaccumulation in Sediment, Fish, and Human Scalp Hair: A Case Study from the City of Mersin Along the Southern Coast of Turkey

Doğan-Sağlamtimur

Kumbur

2009

Biol Trace Elem Res

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This study investigates mercury, lead, copper, and zinc concentrations in six most frequently consumed fish species (120 samples), sediments (20 samples) taken from Karaduvar Fishing Area where fish species live, and Mersin Port as a contrary region, and human scalp hair for people regularly consuming these fish species (50 samples) and non-fish-eaters (15 samples) in Mersin, Turkey. On taking living environment into account, the fish groups include pelagic species of Liza saliens, Liza aurata, and demersal species of Merluccius merluccius, Mullus barbatus, Upeneus moluccensis, and Solea solea. Total Hg (THg) was found to accumulate in muscle tissues at the lowest concentration (0.01 microg/g) in L. saliens and at the highest (2.66 microg/g) in S. solea. Pb was only detected at high concentrations of 1.86 microg/g in M. barbatus and of 2.16 microg/g in M. merluccius. Cu and Zn concentrations were below the detection limit within all fish species. In the sediment samples, Pb and Cu concentrations were persistently below their effect range-median (ERM) value, whereas this limiting value only maintained for 15% of THg concentrations. On the other hand, the effect range-low (ERL) of sediment exceeded at Pb in 15% of samples and Cu in 25% of samples. Zn remained below the detection limit for sediment samples. The metal concentrations at scalp hairs of regular consumers of these fish groups and non-fish eaters vary from the range 0.40-3.28 to 0.14-1.02 microg/g for THg, 11.16-107.84 to 8.00-22.38 microg/g for Pb, and 151.67-645.35 to 144.92-343.50 microg/g for Zn. An important finding of the present study is the significant adverse impact of sedimentary heavy metal bioaccumulation to human through the consumption of demersal fishes in the city of Mersin along the southern coast of Turkey.

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Section: Sedimentmentioning

confidence: 96%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Metals (Hg, Pb, Cu, and Zn) Bioaccumulation in Sediment, Fish, and Human Scalp Hair: A Case Study from the City of Mersin Along the Southern Coast of Turkey

Doğan-Sağlamtimur

Kumbur

2009

Biol Trace Elem Res

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“…For this reason, the analysis of total mercury in hair is widely used for monitoring the intake of Hg in exposed people (Abe et al 1995).…”

Section: Mercury In Human Hairmentioning

confidence: 99%

Mercury contamination in human hair and some marine species from Sfax coasts of Tunisia: levels and risk assessment

Mezghani-Chaari

Hamza

Hamza-Chaffai

2010

Environ Monit Assess

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The aim of this study was to measure the mercury (Hg) contents of three marine fish and common seafood species (Diplodus annularis, Sarpa salpa and Sepia officinalis) at two sampling sites in the gulf of Gabes, i.e. Sidi Mansour (polluted site) and Kerkennah (control site). These species are frequently consumed by the population living at the Sfax coasts of Tunisia, particularly by the families of fisherman. Additionally, the hair mercury levels of 55 volunteers (28 women, 27 men) were analysed and the daily total mercury intake through the fish and seafood diet was estimated. The key findings were: (1) the mercury contents of the examined fish and seafood species frequently exceeded the regulatory guideline value of 0.5 mg/kg, (2) no site-specific differences in hair mercury contents were found, (3) fish and seafood consumption is probably the major contributor of mercury exposure in this population, (4) the daily mercury intake through frequent consumption of D. annularis exceeds the US EPA reference dose. Further studies are necessary to evaluate the health risks associated with such high mercury exposure levels in order to allow optimal counseling and therapy of the concerned population and to avoid future impairment of human health, particularly children's health.

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“…Unlike mercury in blood, urinary mercury levels are less affected by methyl mercury exposure from the diet (ATSDR 1999). However, dietary mercury exposure from high fish consumption may contribute to urinary mercury levels (Abe et al 1995;Suzuki et al 1993).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Evaluation of mercury in urine as an indicator of exposure to low levels of mercury vapor.

Tsuji

Williams

Edwards

et al. 2003

Environ Health Perspect

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We conducted a pooled analysis to investigate the relationship between exposure to elemental mercury in air and resulting urinary mercury levels, specifically at lower air levels relevant for environmental exposures and public health goals (i.e., < 50 microg/m3 down to 1.0 microg/m3). Ten studies reporting paired air and urine mercury data (149 samples total) met criteria for data quality and sufficiency. The log-transformed data set showed a strong correlation between mercury in air and in urine (r = 0.774), although the relationship was best fit by a series of parallel lines with different intercepts for each study R2 = 0.807). Predicted ratios of air to urine mercury levels at 50 microg/m3 air concentration ranged from 1:1 to 1:3, based on the regression line for the studies. Toward the lower end of the data set (i.e., 10 microg/m3), predicted urinary mercury levels encompassed two distinct ranges: values on the order of 20 microg/L and 30-60 microg/L. Extrapolation to 1 microg/m3 resulted in predicted urinary levels of 4-5 and 6-13 microg/L. Higher predicted levels were associated with use of static area air samplers by some studies rather than more accurate personal air samplers. Urinary mercury predictions based primarily on personal air samplers at 1 and 10 microg/m3 are consistent with reported mean (4 microg/L) and upper-bound (20 microg/L) background levels, respectively. Thus, although mercury levels in air and urine are correlated below 50 microg/m3, the impact of airborne mercury levels below 10 microg/m3 is likely to be indistinguishable from background urinary mercury levels.

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High Hair and Urinary Mercury Levels of Fish Eaters in the Nonpolluted Environment of Papua New Guinea

Cited by 46 publications

References 15 publications

Metals (Hg, Pb, Cu, and Zn) Bioaccumulation in Sediment, Fish, and Human Scalp Hair: A Case Study from the City of Mersin Along the Southern Coast of Turkey

Metals (Hg, Pb, Cu, and Zn) Bioaccumulation in Sediment, Fish, and Human Scalp Hair: A Case Study from the City of Mersin Along the Southern Coast of Turkey

Mercury contamination in human hair and some marine species from Sfax coasts of Tunisia: levels and risk assessment

Evaluation of mercury in urine as an indicator of exposure to low levels of mercury vapor.

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