Human exposure to mercury due to goldmining in the Tapajos River basin, Amazon, Brazil: Speciation of mercury in human hair, blood and urine

“…After cooling, the digested sample solution was completed to 50ml with H 2 O, and an aliquot was placed in an Automatic Mercury Analyzer Hg 3500 (K.K. Sanso) consisting of an Hg cold-vapor generation system and atomic absorption spectrophotometer 23 . Quality control used reference materials for hair (IAEA-85 and GBW 07601) and blood (whole blood 1 and 3).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Correlation between blood mercury levels in mothers and newborns in Itaituba, Pará State, Brazil

et al. 2007

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

This study evaluated transplacental mercury transfer by measuring Hg in blood samples of mothers and newborns (umbilical cord) IntroductionStudies on mercury (Hg) in the Amazon region in the 1980s and 1990s emphasized the extent of mercury pollution in gold-mining areas, due mainly to source emission, dispersion mechanisms, and accumulation in geological materials (soils, sediments, and water) and in the aquatic biota, mainly fish. Several studies have also focused on identifying populations (especially riverside dwellers) potentially exposed to organic mercury compounds through consumption of foods containing high Hg levels 1,2,3,4,5,6 . These studies concentrated on mercury pollution in gold-mining areas, but without approaching clinical aspects of exposure to Hg compounds 5,7,8,9 .The first study on clinical signs and symptoms emphasized prospectors, gold shop workers, and riverside communities in the Tapajós Basin, with the first reports of suspected cases of mercury poisoning between 1986 and 1991 10 . The study assessed Hg levels in blood and urine samples and included motor coordination tests. Despite high Hg levels in the samples, no clinically confirmed signs and symptoms of mercury poisoning were identified in these individuals. This apparent paradox has been attributed to the high prevalence of tropical diseases in the Amazon region that can mask the classical signs and symptoms of Hg poisoning. However, studies are needed that integrate information on the health conditions of these communities, including the Cad. Saúde Pública, Rio de Janeiro,

show abstract

“…In the gold-mining areas of the Amazon, where mercury is used in the extraction of gold, there is extensive human and environmental contamination owing to the methods used. [24][25][26] In the Western world, mercury plays a role in the production of chlorine as an electrolytic catalyst, as well as its use in calibration instruments and fluorescent lights. Even with modern techniques of industrial hygiene, workers exposed to mercury and their families 27 have increased mercury concentrations in the urine, though no symptoms of overt poisoning, with normal industrial exposure.…”

Section: Mercury In the Environmentmentioning

confidence: 99%

Toxicity of mercury

1999

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

A ruling by the European Union heralds the demise of those useful clinical instruments, the mercury thermometer and the mercury sphygmomanometer. The new laws have been passed because of worries about mercury poisoning. Yet you can drink metallic mercury and come to no harm. What does it all mean? There are three forms of mercury from a toxicological point of view: inorganic mercury salts; organic mercury compounds; and metallic mercury. Inorganic mercury salts are water soluble, irritate the gut, and cause severe kidney damage. Organic mercury compounds, which are fat soluble, can cross the blood brain barrier and cause neurological damage. Mercury metal poses two dangers. It can be vaporised: the vapour pressure at room temperature is about 100 times the safe amount, so Keywords: mercury; toxicity; thermometer; sphygmomanometer Toxicity of mercuryA new European Union directive 1 will prohibit the use of mercury in sphygmomanometers and clinical thermometers. We review here the toxic effect of mercury and its compounds and discuss their relevance to the environment and to modern medicine.The Chinese used mercury (II) sulphide 1000 years before the birth of Christ as the red dye pigment vermilion. It was used similarly in the GraecoRoman world, with both Hippocrates and Galen recording its toxic effects. Since then its toxicity has become well known in metalworkers, miners, felthat manufacturers, dyers and paint manufacturers. Despite this, mercury has been incorporated into the treatment of man's maladies from ancient times. Its main use has been to treat syphilis, from its first appearance in the West in the 15th century up to World War II. 2 Mercury and its salts have at various times been used as antiseptics, skin ointments, laxatives, diuretics, bowel washouts for the treatment of colorectal cancer, and scabicides. It is still used today as a solvent for the silver-tin amalgams used in dental fillings. So how toxic is mercury? The hazards of mercuryThere are substantial differences in toxicity of elemental mercury metal, inorganic mercury salts, poisoning can occur if mercury metal is spilled into crevices or cracks in the floorboards. Dentists are occasionally poisoned this way. Mercury easily crosses into the brain, and causes tremor, depression, and behavioural disturbances. A second danger from metallic mercury is that it is biotransformed into organic mercury, by bacteria at the bottom of lakes. This can be passed along the food chain and eventually to man. It was this process that led to the Japanese tragedy at Minimata Bay in the late 1950s when over 800 people were poisoned. It is the need to reduce mercury contamination of the environment which should encourage us to cut the usage of metallic mercury. However, much more metallic mercury is spilled as waste by the chemical industry than is dropped on the floor in the clinic.

show abstract

Human exposure to mercury due to goldmining in the Tapajos River basin, Amazon, Brazil: Speciation of mercury in human hair, blood and urine

Cited by 195 publications

References 9 publications

Gold-Mining Activities and Mercury Contamination of Native Amerindian Communities in French Guiana: Key Role of Fish in Dietary Uptake

Gold-Mining Activities and Mercury Contamination of Native Amerindian Communities in French Guiana: Key Role of Fish in Dietary Uptake

Correlation between blood mercury levels in mothers and newborns in Itaituba, Pará State, Brazil

Toxicity of mercury

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About