COMPARISON OF MERCURY IN HAIR WITH FISH EATING HABITS OF CHILDREN IN AUCKLAND

Abstract

AbstractThe mercury concentrations of hair samples from groups of Auckland schoolchildren increased with increasing fish consumption and decreased with increasing age. Polynesian children had higher mean levels than Europeans. Ninety‐five percent of values for 14–15 year old children were in the range 0.27‐5.30 μg Hg/g (Polynesian) and 0.09‐4.10 μg Hg/g (European).Only 3 children of 415 studied had hair mercury concentration above 6 μg/g, which corresponds to the WHO maximum tolerable weekly mercury intake. In view of the known high levels of mercury in certain locally consumed fish, the data are reassuring. Owing to the uncertainty of toxic levels for sensitive groups, such as the foetus of pregnant women, further studies of mercury exposure and toxicity are needed.