New insight into biomarkers of human mercury exposure using naturally occurring mercury stable isotopes

Details

• Personal Author:
  Basu N ; Blum JD ; Franzblau, Alfred ; Sherman LS
• Description:
  Human exposure to methylmercury (MeHg) and elemental mercury vapor (Hg(0)(g)) are often estimated using total Hg concentrations in hair and urine, respectively. We investigated whether Hg stable isotopes could be used to better distinguish between exposure to Hg(0)(g) versus MeHg. We found that hair from North American dental professionals was characterized by high positive delta(199)Hg values (mean = 1.86 0/00, 1 SD = 0.12 0/00, n = 11). This confirms that among people who regularly consume fish, total Hg concentrations in hair reflect exposure to MeHg. In contrast, we found that urine from the same individuals was characterized by a range of delta(199)Hg values (0.29 to 1.77 0/00, 2 SD = 0.06 0/00, n = 12) that were significantly correlated to the number of dental amalgams in each individual's mouth. We hypothesize that fish-derived MeHg is demethylated within the body, causing mass-dependent fractionation and the excretion of inorganic Hg in urine. Mercury in urine therefore represents a mixture of demethylated fish-derived MeHg and amalgam-derived inorganic Hg. We estimate that the majority (>70%) of Hg in urine from individuals with <10 dental amalgams is derived from ingestion of MeHg in fish. These data suggest that within populations that consume fish, urine total Hg concentrations may overestimate Hg exposure from personal dental amalgams. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Animals Biomarkers Chemistry Dental Equipment Dental Offices Environmental Exposure Environmental Monitoring Mercury Occupational Exposure Occupational Health Safety Urine

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• Keywords:
  Analytical-processes Animal-products Chemical-analysis Dental-materials Dentists Employee-exposure Environmental-exposure Exposure-assessment Food Foodstuff Humans Inorganic-mercury Inorganic-mercury-compounds Isotope-effect Mercury-compounds Methyl-compounds Urinalysis

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• ISSN:
  0013-936X
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Grant
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  Michigan ; OSHA Region 5
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Volume:
  47
• Issue:
  7
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20044014
• Citation:
  Environ Sci Technol 2013 Apr; 47(7):3403-3409
• CAS Registry Number:
  Mercury (CAS RN 7439-97-6) ; Methylmercury(1+) (CAS RN 22967-92-6)
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2013
• Performing Organization:
  University of Michigan, Ann Arbor
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Start Date:
  20050701
• Source Full Name:
  Environmental Science and Technology
• End Date:
  20280630
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:38a872d0a37517e061d21bd6e4dfe0b8a1d258c1a672e4c42441ee3ceb1aa32cdd8907c14adeb83540de3c9a91a8cf42a51bc9e173d3218b6fa83e173fb802ae
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/199870/cdc_199870_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 709.18 KB ]