Abstract
Hair samples from dental and nondental personnel in central Kentucky were collected and analyzed for inorganic mercury. Hair mercury levels in both groups averaged somewhat less than 1.0 μg/g, and the maximum concentration observed was 3.0 μg/g. There was no significant difference in hair mercury content between the two groups. However, a highly significant negative correlation (r = —0.7110; p < 0.0001) was found between hair mercury concentration and age of the donor. A possible explanation of this relationship is presented. The analytical procedures employed provided accuracy and precision in recovering mercury from enriched hair samples.