Assessment of mercury exposure among small-scale gold miners using mercury stable isotopes
| Autor: | Joel D. Blum, David G. Buck, David C. Evers, Niladri Basu, Laura S. Sherman, Joseph DiGangi, Mozhgon Rajaee, Jindrich Petrlik |
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| Rok vydání: | 2015 |
| Předmět: |
Adult
Male Adolescent Population chemistry.chemical_element Fractionation Urine Ghana Biochemistry Mass Spectrometry Mining Young Adult chemistry.chemical_compound Occupational Exposure Animals Humans Soil Pollutants education Methylmercury General Environmental Science education.field_of_study Chemistry Stable isotope ratio Fishes Mercury Methylmercury Compounds Middle Aged Fish consumption MERCURY EXPOSURE Mercury (element) Mercury Isotopes Indonesia Environmental chemistry Female Biomarkers Environmental Monitoring Hair |
| Zdroj: | Environmental Research. 137:226-234 |
| ISSN: | 0013-9351 |
| Popis: | Total mercury (Hg) concentrations in hair and urine are often used as biomarkers of exposure to fish-derived methylmercury (MeHg) and gaseous elemental Hg, respectively. We used Hg stable isotopes to assess the validity of these biomarkers among small-scale gold mining populations in Ghana and Indonesia. Urine from Ghanaian miners displayed similar Δ(199)Hg values to Hg derived from ore deposits (mean urine Δ(199)Hg=0.01‰, n=6). This suggests that urine total Hg concentrations accurately reflect exposure to inorganic Hg among this population. Hair samples from Ghanaian miners displayed low positive Δ(199)Hg values (0.23-0.55‰, n=6) and low percentages of total Hg as MeHg (7.6-29%, n=7). These data suggest that the majority of the Hg in these miners' hair samples is exogenously adsorbed inorganic Hg and not fish-derived MeHg. Hair samples from Indonesian gold miners who eat fish daily displayed a wider range of positive Δ(199)Hg values (0.21-1.32‰, n=5) and percentages of total Hg as MeHg (32-72%, n=4). This suggests that total Hg in the hair samples from Indonesian gold miners is likely a mixture of ingested fish MeHg and exogenously adsorbed inorganic Hg. Based on data from both populations, we suggest that total Hg concentrations in hair samples from small-scale gold miners likely overestimate exposure to MeHg from fish consumption. |
| Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
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