Mercury exposure assessment in fish and humans from Sundarban wetland of India

Abstract

Present study had documented total mercury levels in six commonly consumed fish species, and performed a cross-sectional study on local residents to gauge their intake of fish (via dietary survey) and mercury exposure (via hair biomarker analyses). Mean total mercury content in edible composites of locally-caught fishes (topse, hilsa, mackerel, topse, sardinella, khoira) was low and ranged from 0.01 to 0.11 μg g-1 mercury, dry weight. In a cross-sectional study of 58 area residents, the mercury content in hair ranged from 0.25 to 1.23 μg g-1, with a mean of 0.65 ± 0.23 μg g-1. Hair mercury level was not influenced by gender, age, or occupation. Mean number of meals consumed per week was 3.1 ± 1.1, and all participants consumed at least one fish meal per week. When related to fish consumption, a significant positive association was found between number of fish meals consumed per week and hair mercury levels.