Mercury exposure in Ireland: results of the DEMOCOPHES human biomonitoring study

Elizabeth Cullen; David S Evans; Fred Davidson; Padraig Burke; Damien Burns; Andrew Flanagan; Chris Griffin; Anne Kellegher; Rory Mannion; Maurice Mulcahy; Michael Ryan; Pierre Biot; Ludwine Casteleyn; Argelia Castaño; Jürgen Angerer; Holger M Koch; Marta Esteban; Birgit K Schindler; Carmen Navarro; Marike Kolossa-Gehring; Ulrike Fiddicke; Greet Schoeters; Elly Den Hond; Ovnair Sepai; Karen Exley; Louis Bloemen; Lisbeth E. Knudsen; Reinhard Joas; Anke Joas; Dominique Aerts

doi:10.3390/ijerph110909760

Mercury exposure in Ireland: results of the DEMOCOPHES human biomonitoring study

Elizabeth Cullen, David S Evans, Fred Davidson, Padraig Burke, Damien Burns, Andrew Flanagan, Chris Griffin, Anne Kellegher, Rory Mannion, Maurice Mulcahy, Michael Ryan, Pierre Biot, Ludwine Casteleyn, Argelia Castaño, Jürgen Angerer, Holger M Koch, Marta Esteban, Birgit K Schindler, Carmen Navarro, Marike Kolossa-GehringUlrike Fiddicke, Greet Schoeters, Elly Den Hond, Ovnair Sepai, Karen Exley, Louis Bloemen, Lisbeth E. Knudsen, Reinhard Joas, Anke Joas, Dominique Aerts

6 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Monitoring of human exposure to mercury is important due to its adverse health effects. This study aimed to determine the extent of mercury exposure among mothers and their children in Ireland, and to identify factors associated with elevated levels. It formed part of the Demonstration of a study to Coordinate and Perform Human Biomonitoring on a European Scale (DEMOCOPHES) pilot biomonitoring study.

METHODS: Hair mercury concentrations were determined from a convenience sample of 120 mother/child pairs. Mothers also completed a questionnaire. Rigorous quality assurance within DEMOCOPHES guaranteed the accuracy and international comparability of results.

RESULTS: Mercury was detected in 79.2% of the samples from mothers, and 62.5% of children's samples. Arithmetic mean levels in mothers (0.262 µg/g hair) and children (0.149 µg /g hair) did not exceed the US EPA guidance value. Levels were significantly higher for those with higher education, and those who consumed more fish.

CONCLUSIONS: The study demonstrates the benefit of human biomonitoring for assessing and comparing internal exposure levels, both on a population and an individual basis. It enables the potential harmful impact of mercury to be minimised in those highly exposed, and can therefore significantly contribute to population health.

Original language	English
Journal	International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
Volume	11
Issue number	9
Pages (from-to)	9760-75
Number of pages	16
ISSN	1661-7827
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph110909760
Publication status	Published - 17 Sept 2014

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Cullen, E., Evans, D. S., Davidson, F., Burke, P., Burns, D., Flanagan, A., Griffin, C., Kellegher, A., Mannion, R., Mulcahy, M., Ryan, M., Biot, P., Casteleyn, L., Castaño, A., Angerer, J., Koch, H. M., Esteban, M., Schindler, B. K., Navarro, C., ... Aerts, D. (2014). Mercury exposure in Ireland: results of the DEMOCOPHES human biomonitoring study. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 11(9), 9760-75. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph110909760

Cullen, E, Evans, DS, Davidson, F, Burke, P, Burns, D, Flanagan, A, Griffin, C, Kellegher, A, Mannion, R, Mulcahy, M, Ryan, M, Biot, P, Casteleyn, L, Castaño, A, Angerer, J, Koch, HM, Esteban, M, Schindler, BK, Navarro, C, Kolossa-Gehring, M, Fiddicke, U, Schoeters, G, Hond, ED, Sepai, O, Exley, K, Bloemen, L, Knudsen, LE, Joas, R, Joas, A & Aerts, D 2014, 'Mercury exposure in Ireland: results of the DEMOCOPHES human biomonitoring study', International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, vol. 11, no. 9, pp. 9760-75. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph110909760

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title = "Mercury exposure in Ireland: results of the DEMOCOPHES human biomonitoring study",

abstract = "BACKGROUND: Monitoring of human exposure to mercury is important due to its adverse health effects. This study aimed to determine the extent of mercury exposure among mothers and their children in Ireland, and to identify factors associated with elevated levels. It formed part of the Demonstration of a study to Coordinate and Perform Human Biomonitoring on a European Scale (DEMOCOPHES) pilot biomonitoring study.METHODS: Hair mercury concentrations were determined from a convenience sample of 120 mother/child pairs. Mothers also completed a questionnaire. Rigorous quality assurance within DEMOCOPHES guaranteed the accuracy and international comparability of results.RESULTS: Mercury was detected in 79.2% of the samples from mothers, and 62.5% of children's samples. Arithmetic mean levels in mothers (0.262 µg/g hair) and children (0.149 µg /g hair) did not exceed the US EPA guidance value. Levels were significantly higher for those with higher education, and those who consumed more fish.CONCLUSIONS: The study demonstrates the benefit of human biomonitoring for assessing and comparing internal exposure levels, both on a population and an individual basis. It enables the potential harmful impact of mercury to be minimised in those highly exposed, and can therefore significantly contribute to population health.",

author = "Elizabeth Cullen and Evans, {David S} and Fred Davidson and Padraig Burke and Damien Burns and Andrew Flanagan and Chris Griffin and Anne Kellegher and Rory Mannion and Maurice Mulcahy and Michael Ryan and Pierre Biot and Ludwine Casteleyn and Argelia Casta{\~n}o and J{\"u}rgen Angerer and Koch, {Holger M} and Marta Esteban and Schindler, {Birgit K} and Carmen Navarro and Marike Kolossa-Gehring and Ulrike Fiddicke and Greet Schoeters and Hond, {Elly Den} and Ovnair Sepai and Karen Exley and Louis Bloemen and Knudsen, {Lisbeth E.} and Reinhard Joas and Anke Joas and Dominique Aerts",

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T2 - results of the DEMOCOPHES human biomonitoring study

AU - Cullen, Elizabeth

AU - Evans, David S

AU - Davidson, Fred

AU - Burke, Padraig

AU - Burns, Damien

AU - Flanagan, Andrew

AU - Griffin, Chris

AU - Kellegher, Anne

AU - Mannion, Rory

AU - Mulcahy, Maurice

AU - Ryan, Michael

AU - Biot, Pierre

AU - Casteleyn, Ludwine

AU - Castaño, Argelia

AU - Angerer, Jürgen

AU - Koch, Holger M

AU - Esteban, Marta

AU - Schindler, Birgit K

AU - Navarro, Carmen

AU - Kolossa-Gehring, Marike

AU - Fiddicke, Ulrike

AU - Schoeters, Greet

AU - Hond, Elly Den

AU - Sepai, Ovnair

AU - Exley, Karen

AU - Bloemen, Louis

AU - Knudsen, Lisbeth E.

AU - Joas, Reinhard

AU - Joas, Anke

AU - Aerts, Dominique

PY - 2014/9/17

Y1 - 2014/9/17

N2 - BACKGROUND: Monitoring of human exposure to mercury is important due to its adverse health effects. This study aimed to determine the extent of mercury exposure among mothers and their children in Ireland, and to identify factors associated with elevated levels. It formed part of the Demonstration of a study to Coordinate and Perform Human Biomonitoring on a European Scale (DEMOCOPHES) pilot biomonitoring study.METHODS: Hair mercury concentrations were determined from a convenience sample of 120 mother/child pairs. Mothers also completed a questionnaire. Rigorous quality assurance within DEMOCOPHES guaranteed the accuracy and international comparability of results.RESULTS: Mercury was detected in 79.2% of the samples from mothers, and 62.5% of children's samples. Arithmetic mean levels in mothers (0.262 µg/g hair) and children (0.149 µg /g hair) did not exceed the US EPA guidance value. Levels were significantly higher for those with higher education, and those who consumed more fish.CONCLUSIONS: The study demonstrates the benefit of human biomonitoring for assessing and comparing internal exposure levels, both on a population and an individual basis. It enables the potential harmful impact of mercury to be minimised in those highly exposed, and can therefore significantly contribute to population health.

AB - BACKGROUND: Monitoring of human exposure to mercury is important due to its adverse health effects. This study aimed to determine the extent of mercury exposure among mothers and their children in Ireland, and to identify factors associated with elevated levels. It formed part of the Demonstration of a study to Coordinate and Perform Human Biomonitoring on a European Scale (DEMOCOPHES) pilot biomonitoring study.METHODS: Hair mercury concentrations were determined from a convenience sample of 120 mother/child pairs. Mothers also completed a questionnaire. Rigorous quality assurance within DEMOCOPHES guaranteed the accuracy and international comparability of results.RESULTS: Mercury was detected in 79.2% of the samples from mothers, and 62.5% of children's samples. Arithmetic mean levels in mothers (0.262 µg/g hair) and children (0.149 µg /g hair) did not exceed the US EPA guidance value. Levels were significantly higher for those with higher education, and those who consumed more fish.CONCLUSIONS: The study demonstrates the benefit of human biomonitoring for assessing and comparing internal exposure levels, both on a population and an individual basis. It enables the potential harmful impact of mercury to be minimised in those highly exposed, and can therefore significantly contribute to population health.

U2 - 10.3390/ijerph110909760

DO - 10.3390/ijerph110909760

M3 - Journal article

C2 - 25233018

SN - 1661-7827

VL - 11

SP - 9760

EP - 9775

JO - International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health

JF - International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health

IS - 9

ER -

Mercury exposure in Ireland: results of the DEMOCOPHES human biomonitoring study

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