OBJECTIVE: To determine the prevalence of elevated urinary mercury (Hg), as a marker of exposure, in a population of children drawn from an inner-city community with documented access to elemental mercury. METHODS: A prospective consecutive patient series was conducted from November 1998 to January 1999 at an inner-city clinic in New York. Anonymous urine specimens from subjects (aged 1-18 years) were collected in mercury-free containers, split, acidified with 1:100 hydrochloric acid, and frozen. Cold-vapor atomic absorption spectrofluorometric assays were conducted simultaneously at laboratories at the University of Washington and the New York City Department of Health. RESULTS: We enrolled 100 children (mean age 9.4 years; 62% male; 55% Hispanic; and 43% African American). Assay results from both laboratories were strongly correlated (r = 0.8, P <.0001). Mean urinary Hg was 1.08 +/- 1.82 microg/L. The 95th percentile for urinary Hg was 2.8 microg/L (range 0.2 to 11.7 microg/L). Five subjects had Hg levels above 5 microg/L. CONCLUSION: We found that 5% of subjects had unsuspected elevated urinary Hg levels. This finding, in a group of inner-city minority children, strongly supports the need for further investigation of the sources of mercury exposure in this population.
OBJECTIVE: To determine the prevalence of elevated urinary mercury (Hg), as a marker of exposure, in a population of children drawn from an inner-city community with documented access to elemental mercury. METHODS: A prospective consecutive patient series was conducted from November 1998 to January 1999 at an inner-city clinic in New York. Anonymous urine specimens from subjects (aged 1-18 years) were collected in mercury-free containers, split, acidified with 1:100 hydrochloric acid, and frozen. Cold-vapor atomic absorption spectrofluorometric assays were conducted simultaneously at laboratories at the University of Washington and the New York City Department of Health. RESULTS: We enrolled 100 children (mean age 9.4 years; 62% male; 55% Hispanic; and 43% African American). Assay results from both laboratories were strongly correlated (r = 0.8, P <.0001). Mean urinary Hg was 1.08 +/- 1.82 microg/L. The 95th percentile for urinary Hg was 2.8 microg/L (range 0.2 to 11.7 microg/L). Five subjects had Hg levels above 5 microg/L. CONCLUSION: We found that 5% of subjects had unsuspected elevated urinary Hg levels. This finding, in a group of inner-city minority children, strongly supports the need for further investigation of the sources of mercury exposure in this population.
Authors: Helen S Rogers; Nancy Jeffery; Stephanie Kieszak; Pat Fritz; Henry Spliethoff; Christopher D Palmer; Patrick J Parsons; Daniel E Kass; Kathy Caldwell; George Eadon; Carol Rubin Journal: J Urban Health Date: 2007-10-24 Impact factor: 3.671
Authors: Robin Lee; Dan Middleton; Kathleen Caldwell; Steve Dearwent; Steven Jones; Brian Lewis; Carolyn Monteilh; Mary Ellen Mortensen; Richard Nickle; Kenneth Orloff; Meghan Reger; John Risher; Helen Schurz Rogers; Michelle Watters Journal: Environ Health Perspect Date: 2009-01-12 Impact factor: 9.031