Coastal populations with high seafood consumption in the South Caspian Sea (Iran) have a significant exposure to dietary mercury. This study assesses the biomonitoring of mercury in mothers and breastfed infants in the South Caspian Sea. The mean of mercury concentration in the hair of 93 pairs of mothers and infants was obtained and was 3.55 and 1.89 μg g(-1), respectively. A statistically significant correlation (R = 0.850, P = 0.000) was seen between mercury concentration in the hair of mothers and infants. The results of this study indicate that hair mercury concentrations exceeded the USEPA reference dose of 1 μg g(-1) in 82.7 % of mothers and 61.2 % of infants. Also, 31 % of the mothers and 10.7 % of the infants had mercury concentrations more than the WHO "threshold" level (5 μg g(-1)). The age and fish consumption of mothers were the factors that significantly affected the hair mercury concentration of mothers and infants. Number of dental amalgam fillings of mothers was the factor that only affected mercury in the hair of mothers. According to the results, we can conclude that the main determinant of mercury exposure was the intake of mercury through fish consumption of mothers.
The objectives of this study were to understand the mercury daily intake and hair-to-blood mercury ratio in fishermen and non-fishermen families in the coast of the Persian Gulf in Iran. The mean mercury concentration in the hair of fishermen and non-fishermen families was 5.76 and 2.27 μg/g, respectively. The mean mercury concentrations of RBCs were obtained for fishermen families and non-fishermen families: 35.96 and 17.18 μg/L, respectively. Hair mercury concentrations in 17% of people were higher than 10 μg/g, the No Observed Adverse Effects Level set by the World Health Organization. 78% of people had a blood mercury value > 5.8 μg/L, the standard level set by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. A significant correlation (r = 0.94, p = 0.000) was seen between log hair and RBCs mercury concentrations. The mean mercury daily intake for fishermen and non-fishermen families was 0.42 and 0.20 µg/kg BW per day, respectively. The mean mercury daily intake of fishermen families was higher than the provisional tolerable daily intake (0.23 µg/kg BW per day) suggested by the Joint Expert Committee on Food Additives. Mercury daily intake significantly correlated with fish consumption (r = 0.50, p = 0.000) and log hair mercury (r = 0.88, p = 0.000). The total mean of hair-to-blood mercury concentration ratio was 306. We conclude that the use of mercury concentrations in the hair and RBCs could have been suitable biomarkers for predicting mercury exposure of people with a high rate of fish consumption.
The health risks of mercury exposure due to the high consumption of aquatic were assessed for fishermen and non-fishermen families living on the Bandar Abbas, Bushehr, and Mahshahr cities located in the coast of Persian Gulf (Iran). The mean hair mercury concentration of people in Bandar Abbas, Bushehr, and Mahshahr cities was obtained 1.56 ± 0.17, 1.97 ± 0.22, and 5.12 ± 0.3 μg g, respectively. Hair mercury concentration in 8.8% of people exceeded the no observed adverse effects level (NOAEL) of 10 μg g declared by the World Health Organization (WHO). The fish and shrimps consumption, place of living, and fisher and non-fisherman family were variables that significantly effected on mercury levels in the hair. The effect of other factors (age, sex, and number of dental amalgam fillings) on hair mercury was not significant. The mean concentrations of mercury in three fish species in Mahshahr exceeded the recommended maximum standard level (0.5 μg g) set by the Joint Food and Agriculture Organization/World Health Organization Expert Committee on Food Additives (JECFA). The estimated weekly intake (EWI) for mercury in some fish species in Bandar Abbas, Bushehr, and Mahshahr was higher than the provisional tolerable weekly intake (1.6 μg kg bw) set by European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) for some groups. The significant positive correlation between daily mercury intake and hair mercury concentration of people (r = 0.64, P < 0.001) reasserts that the hair mercury concentration could be explained by fish consumption. HQ > 1 was obtained for women in child bearing age in fishermen families in Bandar Abbas and Bushehr cities, children in fishermen families in Bushehr, and for all groups of population except adult in non-fishermen families in Mahshahr. So, the limited consumption of some fish species for these groups of people is recommended. The maximum of allowable fish consumption rate was 0.70 meals/month for Pseudorhombus arsius from Mahshahr fish for women of child bearing age. Also, it is necessary to create and monitor and enforce environmental standards, preventing the entry of pollutants released into the marine aquatic environment without proper early treatment.
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