Download or read book Toxicological Effects of Methylmercury written by National Research Council and published by National Academies Press. This book was released on 2000-09-27 with total page 364 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Mercury is widespread in our environment. Methylmercury, one organic form of mercury, can accumulate up the aquatic food chain and lead to high concentrations in predatory fish. When consumed by humans, contaminated fish represent a public health risk. Combustion processes, especially coal-fired power plants, are major sources of mercury contamination in the environment. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is considering regulating mercury emissions from those plants. Toxicological Effects of Methylmercury reviews the health effects of methylmercury and discusses the estimation of mercury exposure from measured biomarkers, how differences between individuals affect mercury toxicity, and appropriate statistical methods for analysis of the data and thoroughly compares the epidemiological studies available on methylmercury. Included are discussions of current mercury levels on public health and a delineation of the scientific aspects and policy decisions involved in the regulation of mercury. This report is a valuable resource for individuals interested in the public health effects and regulation of mercury. The report also provides an excellent example of the implications of decisions in the risk assessment process for a larger audience.
Download or read book Risk Assessment of Methylmercury in Fish written by Kierstin Petersson-Grawé and published by . This book was released on 2007 with total page 45 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Risk Assessment of Methylmercury from Fish Consumption in Oahu Hawaii Using Hair as a Biomarker of Exposure written by Alethea L. Ramos and published by . This book was released on 2012 with total page 83 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The main purpose of this study was to assess the risk of methylmercury exposure from fish consumption in adults living in Oahu, Hawaii and to determine if demographic variables, fish consumption frequency, and fish parts eaten were associated with methylmercury body burden assessed through hair. The ultimate goal was to inform any guidelines on fish consumption, with consideration of cultural and lifestyle factors for populations that are susceptible to exposure. Persons were recruited at public areas from 5 areas of the island of Hawaii which included 110 adults (57 men and 53 women) during December, 2010 and January, 2011. Hair samples were obtained in order to measure methylmercury body burden concentrations, and a questionnaire assessed their fish consumption, demographic information, and general awareness about methylmercury and fish consumption. Hair samples were analyzed for total mercury through the Milestone Direct Mercury Analyzer (Milestone, Shelton, CT). Older men had the highest hair mercury levels, as compared to younger men and women of all age groups. Men> 45 years had a median hair mercury level of 2.00 ug/g as compared to younger men with a median 0.97 ug/g (p0.05). Hair concentrations from older women had a median of 1.22 ug/g of mercury, as compared to 0.57 ug/g for younger women. Risk indices were calculated, and the average HI value among male residents was 1.61, which is above the safety criteria of 1.0. Among women, the average HI value was 0.92, however, among women of childbearing age, 38% had a HI 1.0, indicating that both men and women were potentially at risk. Fish consumption was a significant contributing factor to increased hair mercury concentrations; significant variables included frequency of fish consumption, portion size of fish meal, frequency of fish consumption in conjunction with portion size, amount of fish parts consumed, and whether or not target organs (brain, head, heart) were consumed. This present study addressed methylmercury exposure among a population of healthy adults, which is uncommon for methylmercury studies since usually only susceptible populations, such as women of childbearing age and children, are examined. Although we did demonstrate that women were a susceptible population, as evidenced by values over 1.0 for a third of the women of childbearing age, men also appeared as a susceptible population, with the highest methylmercury values. Recent studies have established that cardiotoxicity is an adverse health effect of methylmercury exposure for the men at body burden levels found in this study. Since fish is an important staple for Oahu residents, proper guidelines for safe fish consumption should include consuming less than 1/4 pound of fish per meal at a frequency of less than one day per week, along with primarily consuming fish meat and discarding all other organs due to high methylmercury content. The benefits of fish consumption should also be highlighted, and if safe fish consumption practices are followed, residents can reap the health benefits without excessive toxicant exposure.
Download or read book Human Health Risk Assessment of Mercury in Fish and Health Benefits of Fish Consumption written by and published by . This book was released on 2007 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: March 2007 and Health Benefits of Fish Consumption The Bureau of Chemical Safety would like to acknowledge the contribution of the following organizations in the development of this document: Bureau of Nutritional Sciences, Food Directorate, Health Products and Food Branch, Health Canada Office of Nutrition Policy and Promotion, Health Products and Food Branch, Health Canada Healthy Environments a [...] BACKGROUND 1.1 Purpose of this document 1.2 Sources of Human Exposure to Mercury 1.3 The Chemical Forms of Mercury in Fish 1.4 The Ratio of Methylmercury to Total Mercury in Retail Fish 2.0 HAZARD CHARACTERISATION: HEALTH HAZARDS OF METHYLMERCURY 3.0 HEALTH BENEFITS OF FISH CONSUMPTION 4.0. [...] The need for a management strategy to reduce the risk of unacceptable exposures to mercury from fish consumption was first identified by the Health Protection Branch (now the Health Products and Food Branch) of Health Canada in the late 1960s, when it established a standard1 for mercury in fish. [...] The An-3@ indicates that, starting from the end of the carbon-chain furthest from the acid portion of the molecule, the first double bond appears at the third carbon. [...] In the assessment of risk of methylmercury exposure through fish consumption, BCS did not consider, in a quantitative manner, the nutritional benefits of fish consumption against the risks of methylmercury exposure.
Download or read book Mercury and Methylmercury Toxicology and Risk Assessment written by Laurie Hing Man Chan and published by MDPI. This book was released on 2019-06-24 with total page 144 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Mercury is a global pollutant that affects the health of both humans and ecosystems. This Special Issue collects three review papers and six research articles that report on the latest findings on the mechanisms of mercury toxicology and its impacts on environmental health. This collection of papers provides useful, new information on the mechanisms of mercury toxicity and methods of improving the risk assessment of mercury exposure.
Download or read book A Comparative Analysis of Arctic Risk Assessment of Methylmercury in Fish written by Sandra C. Almeida and published by . This book was released on 2014 with total page 84 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This thesis is a critical examination of official public health advice on fish consumption in one of the most contaminated regions on the planet, the Arctic. This thesis compares the bureaucratic strategies to minimize methylmercury exposure among residents in three northern regions, Alaska, Canada, and Greenland, with special attention paid to risk reduction among the Inuit. The two primary questions informing this work are 1) How have public health officials assessed the health risks from methylmercury exposure in Arctic residents? and 2) How have these assessments shaped advisories and advice about fish consumption? The research methodology involved content analysis of state health bulletins, public health announcements, federal agency fact sheets, international organization publications, and scholarly articles in the disciplines of environmental science, anthropology, and toxicology. The research findings suggest that fish consumption advice among government officials in Alaska, Canada, and Greenland are astonishingly similar. In short, fish consumption guidelines in these countries are almost completely absent in Inuit communities. Moreover, government entities maintain that despite toxic contaminants, fish is still an ideal food for Inuit health and cultural livelihood. There are no official advisories targeting the consumption of marine mammals, and in cost-benefit calculations, the benefits of fish are considered to outweigh the risks from methylmercury exposure. I argue that the public health advice is seemingly holistic in its concern for chronic disease prevention, cultural survival, and reduction in toxic exposure; however, these conventional assessments of risk are not protective enough against methylmercury toxicity.
Download or read book A Human Health Risk Assessment of Mercury in Fish from the San Diego River written by and published by . This book was released on 2015 with total page 58 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Methylmercury is the most toxic organic form of mercury in the environment and humans are exposed mainly from the consumption of contaminated fish and shellfish. Methylmercury poisoning can cause adverse health effects including muscle weakness, disrupted motor function, and memory loss, and prenatal exposure can lead to problems with mental and motor development once a child is born. The utilization of the San Diego River in San Diego, CA for recreational and subsistence fishing has created a need for updated information on the human health risk posed by consumption of fish from the river. This study quantified the levels of Methylmercury found in four fish species (Micropterus salmoides or largemouth bass, n=20; Lepomis macrochirus or bluegill, n=11; Lepomis cyanellus, or green sunfish, n=4; and Ameiurus nebulosus or brown bullhead, n=3) from three locations on San Diego River. Muscle tissue analysis was carried out with a DMA-80 Direct Mercury Analyzer. Mercury levels from existing data for largemouth bass from El Capitan Reservoir was also used. A human health risk assessment was completed with data from this study and the El Capitan data set to calculate hazard quotients for 11 different scenarios for recreational and subsistence fishers in the San Diego River. Adverse health effects are likely to occur for recreational fishers who catch and consume maximally contaminated largemouth bass from El Capitan Reservoir, or all study species from the river at the rate of 17.5 g/day. Adverse health effects are also likely to occur for subsistence fishers who catch and consume only large mouth bass, a combination of large mouth bass and bluegill, or all study species from the river at the rate of 142.4 g/day. Additionally, adverse health effects were shown likely to occur for subsistence fishers who catch and consume largemouth bass from El Capitan Reservoir, however these risks are rare due to the financial burden associated with fishing at the reservoir. Overall, consuming fish caught from the San Diego River can be considered safe for recreational fishers, however subsistence fishers should limit their consumption to four 8-ounce servings of any species per week, or target only bluegill.
Download or read book Methyl Mercury in Fish written by and published by . This book was released on 1971 with total page 384 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Guidance for Assessing Chemical Contaminant Data for Use in Fish Advisories written by United States. Environmental Protection Agency. Office of Water, Fish Contaminant Section and published by . This book was released on 1997 with total page 472 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Evaluating the Public Health Risks of Methylmercury Exposure and Benefits from Omega 3 Fatty Acids and Selenium from Fish Consumption written by Leanne K. Cusack and published by . This book was released on 2014 with total page 135 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Although fish are a nutritious food source, they also are the main source of methylmercury exposure in U.S. populations. This research examined the risks from methylmercury and benefits from omega-3 fatty acids and selenium from fish consumption. The first study provided the first region-specific quantitative risk/benefit analysis for nine commonly consumed freshwater fish species in the Columbia River Basin; which is home to many Native American Tribes and subsistence fishermen who consume large quantities of locally caught fish. (Donatuto and Harper 2008; Harper and Harris 2008)(Donatuto and Harper 2008; Harper and Harris 2008) My results showed that mountain whitefish and rainbow trout provided a net benefit for cardiovascular risk and improved infant visual response memory scores across all consumption rates in all subregions in which they were sampled. The second study examined the associations between region of residence, demographic characteristics and total blood mercury concentrations in a nationally representative sample of women of childbearing age, using the 1999-2010 NHANES database. Women who live in the Atlantic and Pacific coastal regions have the highest, and women in the Midwest have the lowest, methymercury concentrations in their blood. The third study analyzed intra-and inter-specific variability in selenium: mercury molar ratios in ten species of freshwater fish from the Columbia River Basin to determine the potential application for fish consumption guidelines. Variability in selenium:mercury molar ratios was high within the fish species regardless of fish size. This variability within fish species warrants caution in using selenium:mercury ratios in risk assessment calculations. Overall, this research demonstrates the complexities involved in crafting guidelines that consider both the risks and benefits of fish consumption.
Download or read book Environmental Toxicology and Risk Assessment written by Diane Susan Henshel and published by ASTM International. This book was released on 1999 with total page 500 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Probabilistic Risk Analysis for Methylmercury Associated with Washington State Fisheries written by Mark D. Sweeney and published by . This book was released on 2013 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Seafood Choices written by Institute of Medicine and published by National Academies Press. This book was released on 2007-03-09 with total page 736 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The fragmented information that consumers receive about the nutritional value and health risks associated with fish and shellfish can result in confusion or misperceptions about these food sources. Consumers are therefore confronted with a dilemma: they are told that seafood is good for them and should be consumed in large amounts, while at the same time the federal government and most states have issued advisories urging caution in the consumption of certain species or seafood from specific waters. Seafood Choices carefully explores the decision-making process for selecting seafood by assessing the evidence on availability of specific nutrients (compared to other food sources) to obtain the greatest nutritional benefits. The book prioritizes the potential for adverse health effects from both naturally occurring and introduced toxicants in seafood; assesses evidence on the availability of specific nutrients in seafood compared to other food sources; determines the impact of modifying food choices to reduce intake of toxicants on nutrient intake and nutritional status within the U.S. population; develops a decision path for U.S. consumers to weigh their seafood choices to obtain nutritional benefits balanced against exposure risks; and identifies data gaps and recommendations for future research. The information provided in this book will benefit food technologists, food manufacturers, nutritionists, and those involved in health professions making nutritional recommendations.
Download or read book A Framework for Assessing Effects of the Food System written by National Research Council and published by National Academies Press. This book was released on 2015-06-17 with total page 340 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: How we produce and consume food has a bigger impact on Americans' well-being than any other human activity. The food industry is the largest sector of our economy; food touches everything from our health to the environment, climate change, economic inequality, and the federal budget. From the earliest developments of agriculture, a major goal has been to attain sufficient foods that provide the energy and the nutrients needed for a healthy, active life. Over time, food production, processing, marketing, and consumption have evolved and become highly complex. The challenges of improving the food system in the 21st century will require systemic approaches that take full account of social, economic, ecological, and evolutionary factors. Policy or business interventions involving a segment of the food system often have consequences beyond the original issue the intervention was meant to address. A Framework for Assessing Effects of the Food System develops an analytical framework for assessing effects associated with the ways in which food is grown, processed, distributed, marketed, retailed, and consumed in the United States. The framework will allow users to recognize effects across the full food system, consider all domains and dimensions of effects, account for systems dynamics and complexities, and choose appropriate methods for analysis. This report provides example applications of the framework based on complex questions that are currently under debate: consumption of a healthy and safe diet, food security, animal welfare, and preserving the environment and its resources. A Framework for Assessing Effects of the Food System describes the U.S. food system and provides a brief history of its evolution into the current system. This report identifies some of the real and potential implications of the current system in terms of its health, environmental, and socioeconomic effects along with a sense for the complexities of the system, potential metrics, and some of the data needs that are required to assess the effects. The overview of the food system and the framework described in this report will be an essential resource for decision makers, researchers, and others to examine the possible impacts of alternative policies or agricultural or food processing practices.
Download or read book Environmental Toxicology and Risk Assessment written by F. James Dwyer and published by ASTM International. This book was released on 1997 with total page 562 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Regulating Mercury Emissions from Power Plants Will It Protect Our Health written by and published by Am Cncl on Science, Health. This book was released on 2005 with total page 18 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book An SAB Report written by and published by . This book was released on 1997 with total page 144 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
