Occurrence of cognitive symptoms in dental assistants with previous occupational exposure to metallic mercury

Hilt, Bjørn; Svendsen, Kristin; Syversen, Tore; Aas, Oddfrid; Qvenild, Torgunn; Sletvold, Helge; Melø, Inger

doi:10.1016/j.neuro.2009.04.012

Cited by 33 publications

(30 citation statements)

References 12 publications

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“…In 2005, the Norwegian Ministry of Labor and Social Inclusion initiated a study to investigate cognitive symptoms among Norwegian dental personnel. This study found that dental assistants in Norway had a slight increase in the occurrence of cognitive symptoms (6).…”

mentioning

confidence: 61%

Pregnancy outcomes among female dental personnel – a registry-based retrospective cohort study

Heggland¹,

Irgens²,

Tollånes³

et al. 2011

Scand J Work Environ Health

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mentioning

confidence: 61%

Pregnancy outcomes among female dental personnel – a registry-based retrospective cohort study

Heggland¹,

Irgens²,

Tollånes³

et al. 2011

Scand J Work Environ Health

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“…1,2 Several neuropsychological studies over the last 29 yr have investigated an increase in symptoms of cognitive malfunction and impairment within dental personnel and dentists. [3][4][5][6][7][8][9] When Hg 0 is inhaled, it is transported throughout the body via the bloodstream and can pass through the blood-brain barrier, subsequently oxidizing to Hg 2ϩ . 10 Functionalized activated carbon (AC) may be a suitable sorbent for Hg removal for this application.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Heterogeneous Mercury Reaction Chemistry on Activated Carbon

Wilcox

Sasmaz

Kirchofer

et al. 2011

Journal of the Air & Waste Management Association

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Experimental and theory-based investigations have been carried out on the oxidation and adsorption mechanism of mercury (Hg) on brominated activated carbon (AC). Air containing parts per billion concentrations of Hg was passed over a packed-bed reactor with varying sorbent materials at 140 and 30°C. Through X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy surface characterization studies it was found that Hg adsorption is primarily associated with bromine (Br) on the surface, but that it may be possible for surfacebound oxygen (O) to play a role in determining the stability of adsorbed Hg. In addition to surface characterization experiments, the interaction of Hg with brominated AC was studied using plane-wave density functional theory. Various configurations of hydrogen, O, Br, and Hg on the zigzag edge sites of graphene were investigated, and although Hg-Br complexes were found to be stable on the surface, the most stable configurations found were those with Hg adjacent to O. The Hg-carbon (C) bond length ranged from 2.26 to 2.34 Å and is approximately 0.1 Å shorter when O is a nearest-neighbor atom rather than a next-nearest neighbor, resulting in increased stability of the given configuration and overall tighter Hg-C binding. Through a density of states analysis, Hg was found to gain electron density in the six p-states after adsorption and was found to donate electron density from the five s-states, thereby leading to an oxidized surface-bound Hg complex.

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“…A slightly increased occurrence of cognitive symptoms among Norwegian dental personnel has recently been published (15) based on a questionnaire which comprised the first part of the project. The aims of this part of the study were to: (i) elucidate and describe Norwegian dental nurses' and dentists' exposures to mercury during the last 40-50 years, (ii) develop a model for a relative score that reflects the cumulative exposure to mercury on an individual basis, and (iii) validate the calculated score by relating it to mercury urine values measured earlier.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%