Total Mercury and Methylmercury Levels in Scalp Hair and Blood of Pregnant Women Residents of Fishing Villages in the Eighth Region of Chile

Abstract

The extent of environmental exposure to mercury through the diet (i.e., by consumption of fish and seafood), of a population group having higher than average fish and seafood consumption was assessed between 1991 and 1994 in pregnant women (PW) and nursing women (NW) residing in selected fishing villages (FVs) along the coastal zone of the Eighth Region of Chile. The control population was an equivalent group with negligible seafood consumption. The samples were scalp hair collected from the occipital region, and blood obtained by venipuncture. Total mercury (Hg-T) levels were determined by cold vapor atomic absorption spectrometry (CVAAS) in all samples, and in 20% of them by instrumental neutron activation analysis (INAA) as a reference method. Methylmercury (Me-Hg) was determined by gas chromatography with electron capture detector (GC-ECD) in hair samples of the 1994 study, after its selective isolation from human hair by volatilization in a microdiffusion cell. Significant efforts were made to validate the analytical methodology for Hg-T and Me-Hg determination in human hair, and for Hg-T determination in blood. Multiple comparison tests confirmed significant differences in Hg-T content between PW and NW in each FV and in the control group, with higher concentrations in at least five FVs which were selected for further in depth studies. A new survey was performed in the selected five FVs and in the control group in 1994, including

Mercury accumulation in fish species from the Persian Gulf and in human hair from fishermen

“…The average mercury level in hair we observed in fishermen of the Persian Gulf was lower than that in human hair from the Amazon regions (Passos et al 2003;Malm et al 1997; Barbosa 1997;Lebel et al 1997) and Japan (Feng et al 1998), but was comparable with the Hg concentrations reported in hair of fish consumers in Indonesia (Feng et al 1998), in North Atlantic women consuming whale meat (Weihe et al 2005), in Kuwaiti fishermen (ROPME 1999), and in Chilean (Brhun et al 1997) fish consumers. The average mercury level in fishermen's hair in our study was higher than the mercury levels in hair of children or women with low fish consumption in America (Weihe et al 2005), in China (Feng et al 1998), and in Korea (Lee and Lee 1999).…”

Global methylmercury exposure from seafood consumption and risk of developmental neurotoxicity: a systematic review

“…The characteristics of the selected studies are provided in Table 3 and Table 4 (both available at: http://www.who.int/ bulletin/volumes/92/04/13-116152). 74,75 Chile, 76 China, [77][78][79][80][81] Colombia, 82 Italy, 83,84 Kazakhstan, 85 Mexico, 87 Morocco, 88 Nicaragua, 89 Norway, 115 the Republic of Korea, 86 Romania, 90 Slovakia, 81,91 Sweden, 92 Taiwan, China, 93 the United States 94 and Venezuela (Bolivarian Republic of), 95 the pooled central THHg median biomarker was 0.8 µg/g (upper bound: 4.6). In 14 subpopulations consuming fish periodically from non-industry-contaminated waters in Botswana, 96 Canada, [97][98][99][100][101][102] Norway, 115 Portugal, 117 Spain, 118 Sweden, 81,92,[112][113][114]119 the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland 120,121 and the United States 122-131 was 0.4 µg/g (upper bound: 2.9).…”

Human Exposure Assessment to Mercury Through Hair Analysis in Coastal Villages of the Valparaiso Region (Chile)

“…In this study, the mean hair mercury concentration reached 1.81 mg kg -1 (corresponding to mothers who live in the coastal region) which was significantly associated with frequency of fish consumption. In other report (Bruhn et al, 1994), total mercury content in scalp hair was analyzed in nursing women (South of Chile) with normal to high fish and seafood consumption as well as in women with negligible or no fish and seafood consumption. The results showed a higher concentration hair mercury of woman's with high fish consumption.…”