Relationships among Mercury Concentration, and Stable Isotope Ratios of Carbon and Nitrogen in the Scalp Hair of Residents from Seven Countries: Effects of Marine Fish and C4 Plants Consumption.

Tetsuya Endo,Osamu Kimura,Moriaki Hayasaka,Koichi Haraguchi,Hideki Ogasawra,Yuichi Kotaki,John P Hart

doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0128149

Abstract

We analyzed the Hg concentration, and δ¹³C and δ15N values in the scalp hair of residents from seven countries; Vietnam, New Zealand, Spain, the USA, South Korea, Brazil and Japan. Relationships among the data in each country and among the seven countries were then examined. The highest Hg concentration as well as the highest or higher δ15N value in each country was found in the hair of a heavy marine fish-eater, whereas the lowest Hg concentration and δ15N value were found in the hair of a vegetarian or non (marginal)-fish eater. Hg concentrations were positively correlated with the δ15N values in each country, and increased markedly in samples with δ15N values exceeding 9.0 ‰, probably due to fish consumption. The highest Hg concentration could be found in sample, with a δ¹³C value between -19 and -18‰, probably reflecting the δ¹³C value of the marine food web.

Highlights

Mercury (Hg) is distributed throughout the environment via both natural and anthropogenic processes, and Hg toxicity has resulted in widespread public health concerns
The δ13C and δ15N values in scalp hair reported in most countries are distributed between -22 ‰ and -15 ‰ and between 6 ‰ and 13 ‰, respectively [24,25,26,27,28]
Petzke et al [31] reported a positive correlation between δ15N value in hair and fish consumption, and Elhamri et al [2] reported that the Hg concentration in the hair of non-fish eaters and marginal fish-eaters seldom exceeded 0.4 μg/g

Summary

Introduction

Mercury (Hg) is distributed throughout the environment via both natural and anthropogenic processes, and Hg toxicity has resulted in widespread public health concerns. The main source of human Hg intake is the consumption of fish and other marine animals contaminated with methyl mercury [1,2,3,4,5]. As Hg accumulation in marine animals increases with increased trophic level, predators accumulate higher levels of Hg [6]-[8]. Hg concentration in scalp hair is the preferred marker for evaluating Hg exposure over a period of several weeks or months, as the hair to blood ratio in humans has been estimated to be about 250:1 [9]. The World Health Organization (WHO) has reported that an Hg level of PLOS ONE | DOI:10.1371/journal.pone.0128149. The World Health Organization (WHO) has reported that an Hg level of PLOS ONE | DOI:10.1371/journal.pone.0128149 June 12, 2015

Methods

Results

Conclusion