Human-biomonitoring and individual soil measurements for children and mothers in an area with recently detected mercury-contaminations and public health concerns: a cross-sectional study

Imo, David; Muff, Stefanie; Schierl, Rudolf; Byber, Katarzyna; Hitzke, Christine; Bopp, Matthias; Maggi, Marion; Böse-O’Reilly, Stephan ; Held, Leonhard and Dressel, Holger (2018): Human-biomonitoring and individual soil measurements for children and mothers in an area with recently detected mercury-contaminations and public health concerns: a cross-sectional study. In: International Journal of Environmental Health Research, Vol. 28, No. 4: pp. 391-406

Abstract

In this study, we assessed intracorporal mercury concentrations in subjects living on partially mercury-contaminated soils in a defined area in Switzerland. We assessed 64 mothers and 107 children who resided in a defined area for at least 3months. Mercury in biological samples (urine and hair) was measured, a detailed questionnaire was administered for each individual, and individual mercury soil values were obtained. Human biomonitoring results were compared with health-related and reference values. Mothers and children in our study had geometric means (GMs) of 0.22 mu g Hg/g creatinine in urine (95th percentile (P95)=0.85 mu g Hg/g) and 0.16 mu g Hg/g (P95=0.56 mu g Hg/g), respectively. In hair, mothers and children had GMs of 0.21 mu g Hg/g (P95=0.94 mu g/g) and 0.18 mu g/g (P95=0.60 mu g/g), respectively. We found no evidence for an association between mercury values in soil and those in human specimens nor for a health threat in residential mothers and children.

• Item Type: Journal article
• Faculties: Medicine > Institute and Polyclinic for Occupational, Social and Environmental Medicine
• Subjects: 600 Technology > 610 Medicine and health
• ISSN: 0960-3123
• Language: English