title: Mercury speciation in hair of children in three communities of the Amazon, Brazil.
abstract: Children from riverside communities located downstream of gold mining areas may be chronically exposed to relatively high levels of MeHg through the consumption of fish of this region. The objective of this study was to evaluate and compare levels of THg and MeHg in hair of children less than 12 years in communities near mines in the municipality of Itaituba and in communities far from prospecting areas in the city of Abaetetuba. The communities of Itaituba (Barreiras and São Luiz do Tapajós) had THg mean levels of 5.64±5.55  μg·g(-1) (0.43-27.82) and 11.41±7.16  μg.g(-1) (1.08-28.17), respectively, and an average count of MeHg relative to THg of 92.20% and 90.27%, respectively. In the Maranhão community, the THg average concentrations results were 2.27±2.11  μg·g(-1) (0.13-9.54) and the average values were 93.17% for MeHg. Children of Itaituba had average levels of mercury above the limit established by the World Health Organization (10  μg·g(-1)) and the strong correlation coefficient between the communities (R=0.968 and P=0.0001) suggests the hair as an excellent biomarker of human exposure to organic mercury in riverside populations of the Tapajós, which has the intake of fish daily as main source of protein dietary.
authors.affiliation: Evandro Chagas Institute, 316 Km, 07 Road, Levilândia, 67030-000 Ananindeua, PA, Brazil ; Federal University of Pará, 01 Augusto Corrêa Street, Guamá, 66075-110 Belém, PA, Brazil.
authors.forename: Jamile Salim
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: Marinho
authors.affiliation: Evandro Chagas Institute, 316 Km, 07 Road, Levilândia, 67030-000 Ananindeua, PA, Brazil.
authors.forename: Marcelo Oliveira
authors.initials: MO
authors.lastname: Lima
authors.affiliation: Evandro Chagas Institute, 316 Km, 07 Road, Levilândia, 67030-000 Ananindeua, PA, Brazil.
authors.forename: Elisabeth Conceição
authors.initials: EC
authors.lastname: de Oliveira Santos
authors.affiliation: Evandro Chagas Institute, 316 Km, 07 Road, Levilândia, 67030-000 Ananindeua, PA, Brazil.
authors.forename: Iracina Maura
authors.initials: IM
authors.lastname: de Jesus
authors.affiliation: Federal University of Pará, 01 Augusto Corrêa Street, Guamá, 66075-110 Belém, PA, Brazil.
authors.forename: Maria
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: da Conceição N Pinheiro
authors.affiliation: Federal University of Pará, 01 Augusto Corrêa Street, Guamá, 66075-110 Belém, PA, Brazil.
authors.forename: Cláudio Nahum
authors.initials: CN
authors.lastname: Alves
authors.affiliation: Federal University of Pará, 01 Augusto Corrêa Street, Guamá, 66075-110 Belém, PA, Brazil.
authors.forename: Regina Celi Sarkis
authors.initials: RC
authors.lastname: Muller
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001938:Brazil; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D004032:Diet; D004781:Environmental Exposure; D004784:Environmental Monitoring / Q000379:methods; D005260:Female; D005396:Fish Products; D005399:Fishes; D005843:Geography; D006197:Hair / Q000187:drug effects*; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008297:Male; D008628:Mercury / Q000032:analysis*; D008630:Mercury Poisoning / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology*; D008767:Methylmercury Compounds / Q000032:analysis
chemical_list: D008767:Methylmercury Compounds; D008628:Mercury
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