Assessment of reference values for mercury in urine: the results of an Italian polycentric study

Dosage multiélémentaire des métaux et métalloïdes dans les milieux biologiques par ICP-MS : valeurs usuelles chez 100 témoins

“…• L'analyse en composantes principales est une repré-sentation graphique qui met en évidence le comportement des variables les unes par rapport aux autres (2,3 …”

Exposure to Hg in the General Population of Europe and the Arctic

“…In a Swedish study, data from about 2000 subjects in 1990, all with amalgam fillings, showed a 99-percentile of 10 ug/gC (Barregard et al, 1995). In Italian subjects the 95-pecentiles were about 5 g/gC, and the 99-percentiles 10-15 ug/gC (Apostoli et al, 2002;Soleo et al, 2003;Barregard et al, 2003). In the large population studies, or in case reports, maximum U-Hg concentrations of 25ug/gC or higher have been reported, i.e levels that have been shown to have subtle effects on humans, e.g.…”

“…This is not caused by the small amount of inorganic Hg present in fish (generally about 5 %), but it is rather the result of demethylation of MeHg (Apostoli et al, 2002;Carta et al, 2003;Barregard et al, 2003;Johnsson et al, 2004). The effect of fish intake is shown by the positive associations between reported number of fish meals and U-Hg concentrations in an Italian population study ( Figure 2).…”

A young woman concerned about mercury

“…9 In con- trast, documented clinical toxicity is associated with levels greater than 500 nmol/L (100 µg/L) in urine and 1000 nmol/L (200 µg/L) in blood. 10 For prenatal exposure, prospective cohort studies have suggested that the risk of subtle neurocognitive effects may start at maternal blood mercury levels as low as 200 nmol/L (40 µg/L), 9 although guidance values are much lower because of the application of safety factors.…”