title: Mercury content of human hair: a survey of dental personnel.
abstract: Hair samples from dental and nondental personnel in central Kentucky were collected and analyzed for inorganic mercury. Hair mercury levels in both groups averaged somewhat less than 1.0 micrograms/g, and the maximum concentration observed was 3.0 micrograms/g. There was no significant difference in hair mercury content between the two groups. However, a highly significant negative correlation (r = 0.7110; p less than 0.0001) was found between hair mercury concentration and age of the donor. A possible explanation of this relationship is presented. The analytical procedures employed provided accuracy and precision in recovering mercury from enriched hair samples.
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000393:Air Pollutants / Q000032:analysis*; D000395:Air Pollutants, Occupational / Q000032:analysis*; D003726:Dental Assistants; D003815:Dentists; D006197:Hair / Q000032:analysis*; D006801:Humans; D008628:Mercury / Q000032:analysis* / Q000378:metabolism; D011506:Proteins / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D000393:Air Pollutants; D000395:Air Pollutants, Occupational; D011506:Proteins; D008628:Mercury