Mercury Concentration in Hair Due to Environment on Two Populations in Mexico
Por:
Martinez Fuentes, Isela, Garcia Martinez, Rocio
Publicada:
1 ene 2018
Resumen:
The study of mercury pollution has been intensified through the last
decades due to the high toxicity of this heavy metal and its increasing
availability in the environment; since mercury is produced by both
natural and anthropogenic processes. Mercury is an element naturally
present in air, water and soil, leading to its accumulation in all
living beings without being essential for any biological process. The
measurement of the corporal mercury load in humans is made through the
use of different biological markers such as nails, teeth, bones, saliva,
urine, blood and hair. Our objective was to quantify total mercury in
hair of two populations: one rural population (miners of the region of
San Joaquin, Queretaro, Mexico) and one urban population of the
Metropolitan Area of Mexico, and to compare the results of a population
potentially exposed by the explotation of mercury in mines and a
community not affected by mercury emissions. Each participant provided a
hair sample and completed a questionnaire assessing potential exposures
and health outcomes. We found average mercury concentrations of 32.07 mu
g g(-1) and 2.62 mu g g(-1) in the rural and urban population,
respectively. The great difference between these values is probably due
to a difference in the time of exposure for each population. In both
cases, the populations studied exceeded the maximum allowable limit
established in standards and by national and international agencies,
mainly due to the direct exposure of mercury vapors in miners and by
anthropogenic sources in the urban population.
Filiaciones:
Martinez Fuentes, Isela:
UNAM IMTA, Posgrad Ingn Ambiental, Paseo Cuauhnahuac 8532, Jiutepec 62550, Morelos, Mexico
Garcia Martinez, Rocio:
Univ Nacl Autonoma Mexico, Ctr Ciencias Atmosfera, Cd Univ,Circuito Exterior S-N, Mexico City 04510, DF, Mexico
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