Longitudinal Hair Mercury Concentration in Riverside Mothers along the Upper Madeira River (Brazil)

Boischio, Ana; Cernichiari, Elsa

doi:10.1006/enrs.1998.3831

Cited by 38 publications

(20 citation statements)

References 6 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…Also, the 3-to 4-cm hair samples analyzed would reflect the average mercury exposure during the past several months. Further, a biologic half-life of 6-8 weeks for methylmercury in the body (22) (3,23). Still, any changes since the pregnancies in the late 1980s may not have affected the four villages and individual residents similarly.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Methylmercury neurotoxicity in Amazonian children downstream from gold mining.

Grandjean

White

Nielsen

et al. 1999

Environ Health Perspect

265

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

In widespread informal gold mining in the Amazon Basin, mercury is used to capture the gold particles as amalgam. Releases of mercury to the environment have resulted in the contamination of freshwater fish with methylmercury. In four comparable Amazonian communities, we examined 351 of 420 eligible children between 7 and 12 years of age. In three Tapaj6s villages with the highest exosures, more than 80% of 246 children had hair-mercury concentrations above 10 peg, a limit above which adverse effects on brain development are likely to occur.

show abstract

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Methylmercury neurotoxicity in Amazonian children downstream from gold mining.

Grandjean

White

Nielsen

et al. 1999

Environ Health Perspect

265

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Measuring total mercury in 1-cm segments of mothers' hair can be used to assess the monthly maternal methylmercury exposure throughout pregnancy (e.g. Boischio and Cernichiari, 1998;Sakamoto et al, 2012). Methylmercury in hair is quite stable over time, indicating that demethylation within the hair is minimal (al-Shahristani and Shihab, 1974;Phelps et al, 1980;Berglund et al, 2005).…”

Section: Biomarkers Of Exposurementioning

confidence: 99%

Scientific Opinion on the risk for public health related to the presence of mercury and methylmercury in food

2012

EFS2

449

160

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

EFSA was asked by the European Commission to consider new developments regarding inorganic mercury and methylmercury toxicity and evaluate whether the Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives (JECFA) provisional tolerable weekly intakes for methylmercury of 1.6 µg/kg body weight (b.w.) and of 4 µg/kg b.w. for inorganic mercury were still appropriate. In line with JECFA, the CONTAM Panel established a tolerable weekly intake (TWI) for inorganic mercury of 4 µg/kg b.w., expressed as mercury. For methylmercury, new developments in epidemiological studies from the Seychelles Child Developmental Study Nutrition Cohort have indicated that n-3 long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids in fish may counteract negative effects from methylmercury exposure. Together with the information that beneficial nutrients in fish may have confounded previous adverse outcomes in child cohort studies from the Faroe Islands, the Panel established a TWI for methylmercury of 1.3 µg/kg b.w., expressed as mercury. The mean dietary exposure across age groups does not exceed the TWI for methylmercury, with the exception of toddlers and other children in some surveys. The 95 th percentile dietary exposure is close to or above the TWI for all age groups. High fish consumers, which might include pregnant women, may exceed the TWI by up to approximately six-fold. Unborn children constitute the most vulnerable group. Biomonitoring data from blood and hair indicate that methylmercury exposure is generally below the TWI in Europe, but higher levels are also observed. Exposure to methylmercury above the TWI is of concern. If measures to reduce methylmercury exposure are considered, the potential beneficial effects of fish consumption should also be taken into account. Dietary inorganic mercury exposure in Europe does not exceed the TWI, but inhalation exposure of elemental mercury from dental amalgam is likely to increase the internal inorganic mercury exposure; thus the TWI might be exceeded. This opinion focuses only on the risks related to dietary inorganic mercury and methylmercury exposure and does not assess the nutritional benefits linked to certain foods (e.g. fish and other seafood).A call for annual collection of chemical contaminant occurrence data in food and feed, including mercury, was issued by EFSA in December 2010. In response, EFSA received 59 820 results on mercury in food from 20 European countries, mainly covering the period from 2004 to 2011. A total number of 59 650 results were described with sufficient detail to be used in the statistical analysis of the respective food groups; 98.2 % of the samples were for total mercury, 1.8 % for methylmercury and three samples for inorganic mercury.All the 20 food groups available at the first level of FoodEx were covered in the current data collection. The food groups 'Fish and other seafood' and 'Meat and meat products' dominated the food product coverage with 36.8 % and 17.6 % respectively. These were followed by 'Grain and grain-based products' at 7.8 % and 'Vegetables an...

show abstract

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…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.…”

mentioning

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

Longitudinal Hair Mercury Concentration in Riverside Mothers along the Upper Madeira River (Brazil)

Cited by 38 publications

References 6 publications

Methylmercury neurotoxicity in Amazonian children downstream from gold mining.

Methylmercury neurotoxicity in Amazonian children downstream from gold mining.

Scientific Opinion on the risk for public health related to the presence of mercury and methylmercury in food

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

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About