Abstract
Total mercury (THg) and methylmercury (MeHg) concentrations were measured in hair of 98 Chinese university students to study their levels of Hg exposure and influencing factors. The results showed that Hg exposure for university students was at a low level with concentrations lower than the USEPA recommended reference level (1 µg/g) across all hair samples. The percentage of MeHg to THg (%MeHg) in hair was about 50%, lower than the previously reported value of 70–100%, probably associated with the low %MeHg in the diet of university students. Fish and rice consumption were not a primary factor affecting hair Hg levels of university students, while smoking could be one main pathway of Hg exposure. In addition, the similarly dietary structure in the studied university narrowed the difference of Hg exposure levels among students.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 160-164 |
| Number of pages | 5 |
| Journal | Bulletin of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology |
| Volume | 106 |
| Issue number | 1 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Jan 2021 |
| Externally published | Yes |
Funding
This work is supported by Southwest University’s Training Program of Innovation and Entrepreneurship for Undergraduates (No. X201910635234), by the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities (No. XDJK2020D041) and by the Youth Project of Science and Technology Research Program of Chongqing Education Commission of China (Grant No. KJQN201803203).
Keywords
- Dietary structure
- Hair mercury
- Mercury exposure
- Methylmercury