Use and residues of mercury compounds in agriculture

Subacute myelo-optic neuropathy and clioquinol. An epidemiological case-history for diagnosis.

“…FAO data show eight times the use of mercurial fungicides per agricultural km2 in Japan in 1961-65 than, for example, in the USA, and large differences in the late 1960s between the heavy use of benzene hexachloride (BHC), DDT, aldrin, and dieldrin per agricultural km2 in Japan and their lighter use in India, the USA, and other countries, (Food and Agricultural Organization 1971-72). Concentrations of mercury in various foods in Japan greatly exceeded those in the USA in the 1960s (Smart, 1968;Goldwater, 1971), and total BHC levels in human fat in the late 1960s and early 1970s in Japan were more than 20 times the figures in the USA and UK (Doguchi, 1973). Furthermore, most if not all these substances were introduced after the war and their usage in Japan declined sharply in the late 1960s as concern over their potential hazards began to mount.…”

Mercury in human hair due to environment and diet: a review.

“…Because at present there is no indicator to monitor the total environment to assess changes in man's exposure to mercury, a method for such environmental monitoring is required. It has been reported that mercury accumulates in the following matrices, any one of which could be used as an indicator of environmental mercury levels: lake sediments (13), bird feathers (14), food (15)(16)(17), fish (18,19), surface seawater (6), air (7) and scalp hair (20,21).…”

Mercury Content of Some Foods

“…Agricultural uses of mercury constitute a lesser hazard. The possibility of translocation of mercury from treated seed to finished crop has been investigated (Smart, 1968) and t h e amounts appearing in the harvested crop shown t o be below significant levels. However, mercury accumulated in the soil, either by geophysical processes or from repeated crop or soil treatment with mercurials, appears t o be absorbed and translocated t o edible parts of t h e plant in significant amounts (Furtani and Osajima, 1966).…”