Biomarkers of mercury exposure at a mercury recycling facility in Ukraine

Identification of Mercury Emissions in Soot with the Quadrant Method on Combustion of Gold in Aceh Jaya District

BACKGROUND: Gold mining, especially by the community, causes many problems. One of the problems is the increase in mercury pollution. The amalgamation technique involving mercury in the gold processing process is still widely used by miners and has the potential to threaten the health of workers and the surrounding community. AIM: This study aimed to identify mercury levels in soot at the location of a traditional gold processing plant in Paya Seumantok Village, Krueng Sabee District, Aceh Jaya District. METHODS: This research was conducted at the Environmental Quality Analysis laboratory, Chemical Engineering Department, Syiah Kuala University, Banda Aceh, in May–August 2021. The sample in this study was soot caught on cloth attached to the gold kiln location by amalgamation using the quadrant method. The soot sample was obtained from the people’s gold processing unit in Gampong Paya Seumantok, Krueng Seabee District; then, the fabric sample containing soot was destroyed using HNO3 in the microwave. Measurement of mercury levels, using AAS Perkin-Elmer Analyst 600, equipped with Graphite Furnace (AAS) Technique. RESULTS: The results of the identification show that the mercury level in the first stage of measurement found the highest mercury concentration at a distance of 10 cm with a concentration of 41.90 (±21.64) g-Hg/g, a distance of 5 cm was obtained at 28.71 (±11. 0.98) g-Hg/g, and at a distance of 15 cm obtained 28.20 (±2.85) g-Hg/g. Furthermore, in the measurement of samples in stages 2 and 3, the mercury concentration in soot is influenced by distance, where the closer the distance, the higher the mercury concentration. Stage 2 measurement at a distance of 5 cm, the mercury concentration obtained is 26.84 (±21.05) g-Hg/g, a distance of 10 and 15 cm each has a concentration of 9.25 (±1.26) g-Hg/g and 9.91 (±3.59) g-Hg/g, and in the third stage of the test, the highest concentration located at a distance of 5 cm with a concentration of 20.27 (±3.57) g-Hg/g. CONCLUSION: The average value of mercury concentration in soot obtained far exceeds the threshold set by the World Health Organization, which is 1 g-Hg/gram. Mercury levels that have exceeded the threshold need to be filtered in an enclosed space before the smoke from burning gold spreads into the free air.

Mercury Exposure among E-Waste Recycling Workers in Colombia: Perceptions of Safety, Risk, and Access to Health Information

Exposures to the toxic element mercury (Hg) are exceptionally high among recycling workers globally. Recycling is a growing sector in Colombia, yet workers who directly handle e-waste are often unaware of the risks of exposure to mercury from post-consumer lighting products (e.g., fluorescent lamps). This qualitative study aimed to understand how recycling workers perceive their own risks from mercury exposure and how they find information about these risks, through interviews (n = 35) at the three largest formal recycling facilities in Colombia. Workers' risk perception was generally disconnected from their likely actual exposure to mercury, instead often seen juxtaposed to co-workers who worked more directly with hazardous waste. Recycling workers, who were predominantly men from lower-income socioeconomic backgrounds, had limited knowledge of health risks due to mercury exposure and were more likely to receive health-related information from informal sources. Over a third of interviewees had searched online for information about occupational health risks of mercury, but these searches were perceived as unsatisfactory due to information being difficult to find, not available in Spanish, or related to mercury exposure via seafood or mining rather than recycling. Workers expressed (over)confidence in personal protective equipment and concern about frequent employee turnover. This study points to weaknesses in environmental health literacy and public health communication around toxic exposures to mercury in the workplace. Stronger regulation and enforcement are needed to prevent toxic exposures and promote worker health equity.

Hair mercury concentrations in residents of Sundarban and Calcutta, India

Few studies on hair mercury have been conducted in India despite the fact that India is the world's third largest producer of coal and coal is India's primary energy source. No studies have been conducted in the Indian state of West Bengal which has a coastline with the Bay of Bengal. This study examined the concentration of mercury in hair in two diverse populations in West Bengal, India: Sundarban, a mangrove wetland where fishing is a common occupation, and Calcutta, a megacity and India's oldest functioning port. Individuals from whom scalp hair was collected (N=100) were asked a series of questions on occupation, education, age, smoking and alcohol consumption, and fish consumption. SAS was utilized to generate descriptive statistics including frequency and univariate analyses and to perform regression analyses to determine significant predictors of hair mercury in this population. The mean hair mercury increased across the first three age categories (<21, 21-30, 31-45) and decreased in the fourth category (>45). Hair mercury concentration was significantly higher among residents of Sundarban compared to Calcutta (p=0.0005). In multivariable analysis, location (Sundarban vs. Calcutta) and age were significant predictors of hair mercury concentration (p=0.0120 and p=0.0161, respectively). Average hair mercury concentrations in this study were not particularly elevated. Smoking and alcohol consumption were predictors of hair mercury concentration. The hair mercury in Sundarban residents compared to Calcutta residents may be elevated due to greater consumption of fish and type of fish consumed.

Determinants of exposure to mercury in hair from inhabitants of the largest mercury mine in the world

Mercury exposure of the local population was assessed in two areas of the Almadén mercury mining district, Spain, which has been the world's largest producer of this element. Two groups, who are exposed to different sources of mercury, from a point source in Almadén and a diffuse source hundreds of kilometres away in the same region, were studied. Total mercury (THg) in human hair ranged from 0.20 to 9.35 mg kg(-1) and the mean value was 2.64 mg kg(-1). About 87% of subjects had THg levels in excess of the EPA reference dose (RfD=1.0 mg kg(-1)), while a high percentage (68%) of them live in Almadén. There was a clear increase in hair Hg with reported fish consumption and the highest mean hair mercury level was 4 times the RfD in a group who had reported the highest consumption of fish. For the whole group, there was a significant effect of age, gender and fish consumption in relation to Hg concentration in the hair. Nevertheless, when both groups were tested separately by means of a multivariate regression model, there was significant exposure in those living near the mine area. Several factors such as age, gender and fish consumption remained statistically significant and were associated with THg. The main conclusion is that people living close to the hot spot are more impacted by mercury than people living further away. The intake of Hg through consumption of fish is an important parameter for Hg exposure; however, in the case of people living close to the hot spot, their levels are related to the highly Hg-impacted living environment.

Biomarkers of mercury exposure in two eastern Ukraine cities

This study evaluates biomarkers of mercury exposure among residents of Horlivka, a city in eastern Ukraine located in an area with geologic and industrial sources of environmental mercury, and residents of Artemivsk, a nearby comparison city outside the mercury-enriched area. Samples of urine, blood, hair, and nails were collected from study participants, and a questionnaire was administered to obtain data on age, gender, occupational history, smoking, alcohol consumption, fish consumption, tattoos, dental amalgams, home heating system, education, source of drinking water, and family employment in mines. Median biomarker mercury concentrations in Artemivsk were 0.26 μg/g-Cr (urine), 0.92 μg/L (blood), 0.42 μg/g (hair), 0.11 μg/g (toenails), and 0.09 μg/g (fingernails); median concentrations in Horlivka were 0.15 μg/g-Cr (urine), 1.01 μg/L (blood), 0.14 μg/g (hair), 0.31 μg/g (toenails), and 0.31 μg/g (fingernails). Biomarkers of mercury exposure for study participants from Horlivka and Artemivsk are low in comparison with occupationally exposed workers at a mercury recycling facility in Horlivka and in comparison with exposures known to be associated with clinical effects. Blood and urinary mercury did not suggest a higher mercury exposure among Horlivka residents as compared with Artemivsk; however, three individuals living in the immediate vicinity of the mercury mines had elevated blood and urinary mercury, relative to overall results for either city. For a limited number of residents from Horlivka (N = 7) and Artemivsk (N = 4), environmental samples (vacuum cleaner dust, dust wipes, soil) were collected from their residences. Mercury concentrations in vacuum cleaner dust and soil were good predictors of blood and urinary mercury.