Exposure to metallic mercury and contact dermatitis

Abstract

In their interesting Case Report about a single and unintentional exposure of leg skin to metallic mercury in an 18-year-old man, De Capitani et al. 1 statein the Abstract section -that "Urinary mercury 36h after contact was 5.9 μg/L, and one week later 19.6 μg/L, indicating dermal absorption." We think that their case report deserves comment on several points.First, the authors argue that the slight elevated urinary mercury concentration is due to transdermal absorption of metallic mercury through his leg skin. Although metallic mercury absorption through the skin can occur in humans, the rates of elemental mercury dermal absorption is approximately 2.2 percent of the uptake quantity in the lungs. 2