Amalgam Research Today is a free monthly online journal that collates and summarizes the latest research about Amalgam, including details on dental fillings, dentistry, side-effects.

Exposure of the urban population to mercury in Changchun city, Northeast China.

Li Z, Wang Q, Luo Y

Soil and Environment Bioremediation Research Center, State Key Laboratory of Soil and Sustainable Agriculture, Institute of Soil Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 210008, Nanjing, China.

An assessment of exposure to mercury in Changchun city has been undertaken. We estimated Hg exposure to members of the general population based on currently available information and our research. We also studied the Hg concentrations in scalp hair of adults. Adults have an estimated intake of all Hg species via all routes of 6.780 mug day(-1) (excluding dental amalgam), which equates to an absorbed dose of 1.718 mug day(-1). Fish consumption was the most important exposure route (12% of intake, 43% of absorbed dose). Furthermore, air, cereals and vegetables were important exposure routes, and these exposure were estimated for absorbed dosed at 0.296, 0.209 and 0.318 mug day(-1), respectively. The mean Hg concentration in hair was 0.448 mug g(-1) (range 0.092-10.463 mug g(-1)). Hg concentration in the hair of males was 0.422 mug g(-1) (0.105-2.665 mug g(-1)), and was 0.474 mug g(-1)(0.092-10.463 mug g(-)1) in the hair of females. Neither place of residence nor age had any significant effect on hair Hg concentrations.

Published 10 March 2006 in Environ Geochem Health.
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