Duplication Diet Study on Mercury Intake by Fish Consumers in the United Kingdom

Abstract

Hair samples were analyzed for mercury in 942 persons living in either one of two coastal areas of the United Kingdom who reported above average fish consumption. A duplicate diet study group was selected from the 942 individuals who had elevated concentrations of mercury in their hair. The study group’s fish consumption averaged 0.36 kg/person wk during the duplicate diet. Concentration of total mercury in the blood of the study group ranged from 1.1 to 42.3 μg/L with an arithmetic mean of 8.8 μg/l. The linear curve fitted to the data on the concentration of total mercury in blood vs. mercury intake was similar to that observed in a previous study made in the United Kingdom, but different from that observed in other studies. The results from the present study indicate that people in the United Kingdom are unlikely to be adversely affected by the presence of methylmercury in the fish they consume.