Application of hair-mercury analysis to determine the impact of a seafood advisory

Abstract

Abstract:Following an official recommendation in the Faroe Islands that women should abstain from eating mercury-contaminated pilot whale meat, a survey was carried out to obtain information on dietary habits and hair samples for mercury analysis. A letter was sent to all 1180 women aged 26-30 years who resided within the Faroes, and the women were contacted again one year later. A total of 415 women responded to the first letter; the second letter resulted in 145 repeat hair samples and 125 new responses. Questionnaire results showed that Faroese women, on average, consumed whale meat for dinner only once every second month, but the frequency and meal size depended on the availability of whale in the community. The geometric mean hair-mercury concentration at the first survey was higher in districts with available whale than in those without (3.03 µg/g vs. 1.88 µg/g; p = 0.001). The mercury concentration also depended on the frequency of whale meat dinners and on consumption of dried whale meat. The 36 women who did not eat whale meat at all had a geometric mean hair-mercury concentration of 1.28 µg/g. At the time of the second survey, the geometric mean had decreased to 1.77 µg/g (p < 0.001), although whale was now available in all districts. In comparison with previously published data on hair-mercury concentrations in pregnant Faroese women, these results document substantially lower exposures as well as a further decrease temporally associated with the issue of a stricter dietary advisory.

Fish consumption, methylmercury and child neurodevelopment

“…Women surveyed after the advisory ate fewer servings not only of the dark meat fish likely to have higher mercury contamination, but also of fish types not specifically named in the advisory, such as canned tuna fish and white meat fish. Similarly, an advisory in the Faroe Islands that focused on whale meat consumption succeeded in reducing hair mercury levels among women of childbearing age [24]. However, administration of a fish consumption advisory to women in France resulted in reduced consumption of tuna fish, but no change in intake of the most highly contaminated fish [25].…”

Impact of prenatal methylmercury exposure on neurobehavioral function at age 14 years

“…The Faroes are located in the North Atlantic between Norway, Shetland, and Iceland. In this Nordic fishing community, excess exposure to MeHg is mainly due to the traditional habit of eating meat from the pilot whale, while baseline exposures are due to frequent intake of other types of seafood that contains lower MeHg concentrations [38]. In a study conducted when the cohort children were 7 years of age, the main finding was that decrements in specific functional domains were associated with prenatal MeHg exposure [18].…”

Environmental mercury in China: A review

“…The main concern regarding Hg exposure to the general population is MeHg through dietary intake. Globally, the main concern is uptake of MeHg through fish [5,137], although rice has recently also received some attention as a potentially important source in regions with serious Hg contamination and where local rice is a major staple food [110].…”