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Trends in mercury concentrations in the hair of women of Nome, Alaska - Evidence of seafood consumption or abiotic absorption? [electronic resource].

Published
Washington, D.C. : United States. Dept. of Energy, 1992.
Oak Ridge, Tenn. : Distributed by the Office of Scientific and Technical Information, U.S. Dept. of Energy.
Physical Description
15 pages : digital, PDF file
Additional Creators
Pacific Northwest Laboratory, United States. Department of Energy, and United States. Department of Energy. Office of Scientific and Technical Information
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Summary
Eighty samples of hair from women of child-bearing age from Nome, Alaska, and seven control samples from women living in Sequim, Washington, were analyzed for mercury concentration by segmental analysis in an effort to determine whether seasonal fluctuations in mercury concentration in the hair samples can be correlated to seasonal seafood consumption. Full-length hair strands were analyzed in 1.1-cm segments representing 1 month`s growth using a strong acid digestion and cold vapor atomic fluorescence analysis. It was assumed that the concentration of mercury in each segment is an indicator of the mercury body burden during the month in which the segment emerged from the scalp. Eighteen of the samples show seasonal variability, with five of the controls and one Nome resident showing winter highs while all Nome residents show summer highs. Twenty-six of the samples show an increase in mercury concentration toward the distal end of the strand regardless of month of growth. The trend of increasing mercury concentrations toward the distal end of the hair strand regardless of month of emergence, and the documented presence of elevated levels of elemental mercury in the Nome area suggest that these elevated levels may actually be due to external contamination of the hair strands by adsorption and not due to ingestion of contaminated foodstuffs such as seafood.
Report Numbers
E 1.99:pnl-sa--20189
E 1.99: conf-9205230--1
conf-9205230--1
pnl-sa--20189
Subject(s)
Other Subject(s)
Note
Published through SciTech Connect.
06/01/1992.
"pnl-sa--20189"
" conf-9205230--1"
"DE92019081"
Mercury as a global pollutant: toward integration and synthesis,Monterey, CA (United States),31 May - 4 Jun 1992.
Lasorsa, B.
Funding Information
AC06-76RL01830
View MARC record | catkey: 14793434