Surveying Mercury Levels in Hair, Blood and Urine of under 7-Year Old Children from a Coastal City in China

Guixia Chen, Xiaoxin Chen, Chonghuai Yan, Xingdong Wu and Guozhang Zeng
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Guixia Chen: Xiamen Maternity and Child Health Care Hospital, Xiamen 361000, China
Xiaoxin Chen: School of Life Sciences, Xiamen University, Xiamen 361005, China
Chonghuai Yan: Shanghai Key Laboratory of Children's Environmental Health, School of Medicine, Shanghai Jiaotong University Shanghai 200092, China
Xingdong Wu: Xiamen Maternity and Child Health Care Hospital, Xiamen 361000, China
Guozhang Zeng: Xiamen Maternity and Child Health Care Hospital, Xiamen 361000, China

IJERPH, 2014, vol. 11, issue 11, 1-13

Abstract: Aim : The average mercury load in children under 7-years old was determined in a populated but not overly industrial coastal area in China. Methods : 395 blood samples, 1072 urine samples, and 581 hair samples were collected from 1076 children, aged 0 to 6 years, from eight representative communities of Xiamen, China. Mercury levels in the samples were surveyed. Results : The 95% upper limits of mercury in blood, urine, and hair for the children were 2.30, 1.50 and 2100.00 ?g/kg, respectively. Levels tended to increase with age. Correlation analyses showed that mercury levels in blood and urine correlated with those in hair ( n = 132), r = 0.49, p < 0.0001 and r = 0.20, p = 0.0008; however, blood mercury levels did not correlate with urine levels ( n = 284), r = 0.07, p = 0.35. Conclusions : Surveying the average mercury load in children 0 to 6 years, and the 95% upper limit value of mercury in their blood, urine, and hair should help guide risk assessment and health management for children.

Keywords: mercury; children; blood; urine; hair (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2014
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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