High hair and urinary mercury levels of fish eaters in the nonpolluted environment of Papua New Guinea.
Hair and mercury concentrations of 134 fish-eating subjects in the Lake Murray area and 13 non-fish-eating subjects in the upper-Strickland area, Papua New Guinea, were studied. Hair mercury levels among the subjects in the Lake Murray area (mean = 21.9 micrograms/g, range = 3.7-71.9 micrograms/g) and urinary mercury levels (mean = 7.6 micrograms/g creatinine, range = 1.4-25.6 micrograms/g creatinine) were markedly higher than levels found in subjects from the upper-Strickland area (mean hair mercury = 0.75 micrograms/g, mean urinary mercury = 0.48 micrograms/g creatinine). Mercury intake of the fish eaters, estimated from mercury concentrations found in fish and from the observed amounts of fish consumed, was approximately 73 micrograms/d. Hair and urinary mercury concentrations were correlated significantly (r = .59), indicating that urinary mercury excretion was elevated because fish consumption was very high.
Abe
T
T
Department of Human Ecology, School of International Health, Faculty of Medicine, University of Tokyo, Japan.
Ohtsuka
R
R
Hongo
T
T
Suzuki
T
T
Tohyama
C
C
Nakano
A
A
Akagi
H
H
Akimichi
T
T
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000818:Animals; D004034:Diet Surveys; D004784:Environmental Monitoring; D005260:Female; D005399:Fishes; D005504:Food Analysis; D005506:Food Contamination; D006197:Hair / Q000737:chemistry*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008628:Mercury / Q000652:urine*; D008630:Mercury Poisoning / Q000209:etiology / Q000652:urine*; D010219:Papua New Guinea; D011159:Population Surveillance; D012111:Residence Characteristics; D014556:Urine / Q000737:chemistry; D014877:Water Pollution, Chemical
D008628:Mercury