Methylmercury in Fish and Hair Samples from the Balbina Reservoir, Brazilian Amazon

Kehrig, Helena do Amaral; Malm, Olaf; Akagi, Hirokatsu; Guimarães, Jean Rémy Davée; Torres, João Paulo Machado

doi:10.1006/enrs.1998.3836

Cited by 108 publications

(73 citation statements)

References 13 publications

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“…These investigators detected accumulated hair MeHg levels of 13.1-23.5 µg/g in the Balbina Village population, Amazon Region. As observed above, the MeHg concentrations were higher in H. aimara than those reported by Kehrig and colleagues (32), so that the doses used in the present study were realistic even though they were injected intraperitoneally.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 46%

“…This level of mercury concentration exceeds the WHO safety limit for human consumers (2.5 µg/g dry weight) (12). Regarding human exposure, Kehrig et al (32) estimated that a daily intake of 110 g fish (0.5-0.9 µg MeHg/g) corresponds approximately to 55-88 µg MeHg/day. These investigators detected accumulated hair MeHg levels of 13.1-23.5 µg/g in the Balbina Village population, Amazon Region.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Losses of immunoreactive parvalbumin amacrine and immunoreactive alphaprotein kinase C bipolar cells caused by methylmercury chloride intoxication in the retina of the tropical fish Hoplias malabaricus

Bonci

Lima

Grötzner

et al. 2006

Braz J Med Biol Res

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 46%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Losses of immunoreactive parvalbumin amacrine and immunoreactive alphaprotein kinase C bipolar cells caused by methylmercury chloride intoxication in the retina of the tropical fish Hoplias malabaricus

Bonci

Lima

Grötzner

et al. 2006

Braz J Med Biol Res

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“…For example, Boischio and Henshel (1996) reported fish portions of 200 g for the riverside population of the Madeira River Basin, while Hacon et al (1997) presented an average fish ingestion rate of 110 g/day for fishermen of the Alta Floresta region. A daily consumption of about 110 g has likewise been reported for the villagers of the Balbina reservoir (Kehrig et al, 1998), whereas Fre´ry et al (2001) showed that in periods of abundance the amount of fish consumption may reach over 600 g/day and that in times of scarcity these amounts may be relatively low. These latter authors report an average daily consumption surrounding 340 g for adult men of native Amerindian communities in French Guiana.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 95%

“…Kehrig et al (1998) suggested that pregnant women and women of childbearing age should consume less fish to limit their exposure to potential sources of methyl mercury, while Boischio and Henshel (2000) put forward that risk communication for this exposed population could be addressed using fish advisories for consumers, fishermen, and retailers, which would recommend an acceptable number of fish meals to be consumed according to species. Whereas both these studies used predictive models to provide important insights on the potential risks to human health, their recommendations are limited by their methodological approach.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…However, little attention has been given to the importance of mercury intake in these populations, although a limited number of studies have tried to estimate the rates of mercury intake Henshel, 1996, 2000;Bidone et al, 1997;Hacon et al, 1997;Kehrig et al, 1998;Fre´ry et al, 2001). Daily oral exposures are used in many countries as the basis for risk assessment (Clarkson and Magos, 2006).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Daily mercury intake in fish-eating populations in the Brazilian Amazon

Passos

Silva

Lemire

et al. 2007

J Expo Sci Environ Epidemiol

110

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Although high levels of fish consumption and bioindicators of mercury exposure have been reported for traditional populations in the Amazon, little is known about their actual daily intake of Hg. Using an ecosystem approach, calculate daily mercury intake in adult fish-eaters, examine the relations between mercury intake and bioindicators of exposure and the factors that influence these relations. A cross-sectional dietary survey on fish and fruit consumption frequency was carried out with 256 persons from six villages of the Tapajo´s River. Fish portion per meal was determined. Mercury concentration was determined for 1123 local fish specimens. Daily mercury intake (mg/kg/day) was determined for men and women from each village using the average fish-mercury concentration for the fish caught in their fishing zone, the average quantity of fish per meal, fish-species frequency consumption and participants' body weight. Fish-mercury averaged 0.33 mg/g70.33. Daily mercury intake varied between 0 and 11.8 mg/kg/day (mean 0.92 mg/kg/day70.89) and varied by gender and village. Mean blood-and hair-mercury were 58.7736.1 mg/l and 17.9711.5 mg/g, respectively. There was a strong and positive relation between blood-mercury and daily mercury intake, with an inverse relation for fruit intake and schooling; significant variations were observed with immigrant status, and among villages. Hair-mercury was directly associated with daily mercury intake and inversely related to schooling and fruit consumption. Fruit consumption modified the relation between daily mercury intake and blood-mercury levels: for the same daily mercury intake, persons eating more fruit had lower blood-mercury concentrations (ANCOVA Interaction term: F ¼ 10.9, Po0.0001). The median difference of the ratio of blood-mercury to daily mercury intake between low and high fruit consumers was 26, representing a 26.3% reduction. These findings reveal high levels of daily mercury intake. Rigorous studies for developing risk-based reference doses in the Amazon should be undertaken to orient viable risk-management strategies to reduce exposure, while maintaining fish diet.

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Comparative tests on the efficiency of three methods of methylmercury extraction in environmental samples

Brito¹,

Guimarães²

1999

Appl. Organometal. Chem.

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Mercury is used in gold mining in the Brazilian Amazon and released in significant amounts to the environment as Hg0. After its oxidation it may be methylated, mainly in bottom sediments and in the rhizosphere of floating aquatic macrophytes. Methylmercury (MeHg) is highly bioavailable and subject to biomagnification. The objective of this work was to evaluate the efficiency of three methylmercury extraction techniques, applied to replicates of environmental samples (stream sediments from Floresta da Tijuca, Rio de Janeiro; and roots of the floating macrophyte Eichhornia crassipes from Lagoinha, Rio de Janeiro) previously incubated with 203Hg2+. Method A is based on acid leaching and extraction of Me203Hg in toluene. Method B uses alkaline digestion, extraction in dithizone–benzene and separation of organic and inorganic 203Hg dithizonates by thin‐layer chromatography (TLC). Method C consists in separating the Me203Hg from the sample matrix by distillation. Total 203Hg and Me203Hg were detected by gamma spectrometry or liquid scintillation. For both matrices, Me203Hg extraction efficiency was better for smaller samples (range: 0.08–0.5 g for sediment, 0.1–0.5 g for E. crassipes roots). For the sediment samples, the three selected methods presented similar Me203Hg extraction efficiencies: 7–13, 5–14 and 4–17% of total added 203Hg was found as MeHg for procedures A, B and C, respectively. For E. crassipes roots, on the other hand, a lower extraction efficiency was obtained for the procedure C (11–28% of total 203Hg present as Me203Hg) than for methods B (22–36%) and A (20–44%). In all the root samples prepared with procedure B, a strong and durable chemiluminescence effect was observed, which required measuring the final Me203Hg extracts by gamma spectrometry only. In the specific conditions we used, extraction via distillation required re‐extraction of Me203Hg in the distillate, due to the presence of traces of inorganic 203Hg in the latter. Copyright © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

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Methylmercury in Fish and Hair Samples from the Balbina Reservoir, Brazilian Amazon

Cited by 108 publications

References 13 publications

Losses of immunoreactive parvalbumin amacrine and immunoreactive alphaprotein kinase C bipolar cells caused by methylmercury chloride intoxication in the retina of the tropical fish Hoplias malabaricus

Losses of immunoreactive parvalbumin amacrine and immunoreactive alphaprotein kinase C bipolar cells caused by methylmercury chloride intoxication in the retina of the tropical fish Hoplias malabaricus

Daily mercury intake in fish-eating populations in the Brazilian Amazon

Comparative tests on the efficiency of three methods of methylmercury extraction in environmental samples

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