• Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
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• v.17 no.4
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• pp.427-431
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• 2014

Mercury is an element of special concern for human health. Measurements of total mercury levels in fish have been taken into consideration to assess risk. In this study, the Antarctic toothfish Dissostichus mawsoni was evaluated as a potential safe food source through measurement of total mercury contents. Total mercury concentrations in Antarctic toothfish ranged from $0.101{\pm}0.047mg/kg$ to $0.139{\pm}0.075mg/kg$. The total mercury concentration was significantly correlated with macroscopic values including total fish length, weight, gonadosomatic index, and maturity (P < 0.01 or 0.05). Furthermore, according to the risk assessment, the total mercury body exposure rate from Antarctic toothfish ranged from 2.125% to 2.847% of the Provisional Tolerable Weekly Intake. Therefore, the Antarctic toothfish could be used as a potential safe seafood source.

• YAKHAK HOEJI
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• v.26 no.4
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• pp.253-256
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• 1982

The organ distribution of mercury was examined in the rat after oral administration of a single dose of red mercuric sulfide (15mg Hg/kg). The concentration of total mercury in the organs and blood after 2, 4, 6, 8, 12, 24 and 72 hours of administration was determined by Quartz Tube Combustion-Gold Amalgamation Method. It was found that the maximal concentration of total mercury was in the kidneys and muscle within 24 hours and in the brain, heart, liver and blood within 48 hours. The descending order of the maximal organ and blood concentration was: kidneys(1.08ppm)>blood> muscle>heart>liver>brain. The accumulation states of total mercury in the rat organs were investigated by continuous administration of red mercuric sulfide (5mg Hg/kg/day) for 15 days. The mercury concentration increased progressively throughout the experimental period and the descending order of the highest level of mercury after 15 days was: kidneys (1.55ppm)>blood>liver. The concentration of alkyl mercury in brain, liver and kidneys also was measured after 7 and 15 days of consecutive administration of red mercuric sulfide (5mg Hg/kg/day). The concentration in the Kidneys and the liver was very low, but was significantly different from control group. The concentration in the brain was extremely low and was not significantly different from control group.

• Journal of Korean Society for Atmospheric Environment
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• v.30 no.3
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• pp.261-269
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• 2014

This study focused on the performance of the newly developed hybrid filter system to capture fine particulate matter and mercury compounds in a coal-fired power plant. The hybrid filter system combining bag-filter and electrostatic precipitator had been developed to remove fine particulate matter. However, it would have a good performance to control mercury compounds as well. In Hybrid filter capture system, the total removal efficiency of total mercury compounds consisting of particulate mercury ($Hg_p$), oxidized mercury ($Hg^{2+}$), and elemental mercury ($Hg^0$) was 66.2%. The speciation of mercury compounds at inlet and outlet of Hybrid filter capture system were 1.3% and 0% of $Hg_p$, 85.2% and 68.1% of $Hg^0$, and 13.5% and 31.9% of $Hg^{2+}$, respectively. In hybrid filter capture system injected with 100% of flue-gas, the removal efficiency of total mercury was calculated to increase to 93.5%.

• Journal of Environmental Science International
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• v.28 no.11
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• pp.1033-1040
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• 2019

The National Environmental Specimen Bank (NESB) has set up a plan to develop reference materials in the facility for assuring analytical quality and validating analytical methods for its monitoring samples. Some of the crucial characteristics that reference materials must consist of are homogeneity and stability of both intra and inter-bottles. In this study, we examined the homogeneity and stability of cryogenically-milled muscle samples, from Common Carp (Cyprinus carpio) for total mercury. Homogeneity was tested using ANOVA analysis and regression analysis was used to test short-term stability. The variations of total mercury concentration did not significantly differ between the intra and the inter-bottle (F=0.8, p=0.37). Additionally, relative standard deviation of the total mercury concentration showed low values (2.28%). For the short-term stability test, total mercury variations were not statistically significant as demonstrated by the result of the regression analysis (F ratio = 3.11, p = 0.18). This suggests that the cryogenic-milling process has statistically proven the degree of homogeneity and short-term stability for samples of carp muscles in the chemical analysis for total mercury.

• YAKHAK HOEJI
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• v.23 no.1
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• pp.17-29
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• 1979

The total mercury content in the head hair of 87 dental personnel and 210 Seoul citizens as control was determined. 1) The mean value of mercury content in dentists (8.57ppm) was 3.3 times of Seoul male citizens (2.57ppm) and the median of the former (5.92 ppm) was higher than that of the latter (2.39ppm) by approximately 2.5 times. 2) The mean value of mercury content in dental nurses (5.79ppm) was 2.8 times of Seoul female citizens(2.11ppm) and the median of the former(4.62ppm) was higher than that of the latter (1.86ppm) by approximately 2.5 times. 3) The mean value of mercury content in Seoul citizens was 2.29ppm and the median was 1.98ppm. 4) There was no correlationship between the mercury content in the head hair of dentists and the length of dental surgery experience or the frequency of amalgam fiillings per day. 5) The mercury content of Seoul citizens was higher in the male than in the female. 6) It appears more meaningful to employ median values than mean values when the environmental pollution is considered.

• Journal of fish pathology
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• v.30 no.1
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• pp.25-39
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• 2017

A total number of 668 apparently healthy fish were obtained from farm to study the effect of two heavy metals in a form of (Copper sulfate and Mercuric chloride) on some hematological and biochemical parameters of blood. The $LC_{50}$ /96 hr. of Cu and Hg were estimated and fish exposed to $\text\tiny{^1/_2}$ $LC_{50}$ for 7 days and for $1/_{10}$ $LC_{50}$ for 8 weeks from each product separately. Results showed decrease in RBCs count, PCV% and Hb in acute and chronic mercury while a significant increase was shown in acute and chronic copper toxicity, total leucocytic count showed decrease in acute mercury toxicity and increase in the chronic case, while in copper toxicity non-significant decrease in acute and significant decrease in chronic toxicity was noticed. Elevated serum urea and creatinine in both acute and chronic mercury and copper toxicity was detected. No changes in total bilirubin in the acute mercury and chronic copper toxicity while significant increase in chronic mercury and acute copper. Elevation of serum AST and ALT in some days of acute toxicity of mercury and copper while in chronic mercury toxicity a significant elevation of both serums AST and ALT were detected .while in chronic copper toxicity serum AST was fluctuated and ALT showed no significant changes. CK study revealed significant decrease in acute mercury with fluctuation in the chronic toxicity while in copper toxicity it showed fluctuation in acute and significant decrease in chronic toxicity. Glucose value decreased in acute and chronic mercury toxicity while in copper toxicity it showed significant increase in the acute and increase followed by significant decrease in the chronic copper toxicity.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.15 no.3
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• pp.497-501
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• 2005

This study deals with the removal of mercury species using a packed-bed column with spherical aminated chitosan material. These adsorbents revealed a high adsorption capacity for mercury species. Experiments with feed solutions of 10 ppm Hg dissolved in distilled water showed an excellent removal with a sharp increase of the filter effluent concentration after a total throughput of 900 bed volumes of feed water. Up to $95\%$ desorption was reached by using 3 bed volumes of 0.01 N EDTA solution. EDTA could be recovered by means of sulfuric acid with about $75\%$ efficiency. Almost the same results were obtained in repeated sorption and desorption experiments at identical conditions. The experiments demonstrated that the sorbents possessed practically no sorption capacity for alkaline earth ions ($Ca^{2+}\;and\;Mg^{2+}$). Their influence on the sorption of mercury was negligible. In experiments with spiked tap water of the Karlsruhe Research Centre and a feed mercury concentration of 0.01 mg/l, the breakthrough of Hg was observed only after a total throughput of about 6,000 bed volumes of feed water.

• Journal of Food Hygiene and Safety
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• v.32 no.1
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• pp.42-49
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• 2017

The aim of this study was to determine total mercury and methyl mercury level in fishes (Deep-sea Fish, Tuna, Billfish) and fishery products. A total of 101 fishes and 44 fishery products samples collected from commercial market in Gyeonggi-do. Total mercury were analysed by mercury analyzer and methyl mercury were analyzed by gas chromatography with electron capture detector. In the fishes, total mercury was detected in all samples and methylmercury was detected in 92 samples of them. The detection rate of methylmercury was 91.1% in fishes. The mean concentration (mg/kg) of total mercury and methylmercury were $1.968{\pm}0.505/0.496{\pm}0.057$ for Billfish, $0.665{\pm}0.091/0.252{\pm}0.033$ for Deep-sea Fish and $0.577{\pm}0.085/0.218{\pm}0.025$ for Tuna, respectively. The Swordfish contains the highest level of total mercury (1.968 mg/kg) and methylmercury (0.496 mg/kg). In Mabled rockfish, the ratio of methylmercury's contents about total mercury's contents was the highest as 66.5%. In case of fishery products, frozens made of 100% of raw material contained the highest level of total mercury and methyl mercury. The weekly intake of total mercury and methylmercury was calculated in 4.72% and 5.24% of Provisional Tolerable Weekly Intake (PTWI) respectively. This study showed that the weekly intake of methylmercury from Deep-sea Fish, Tuna and Billfish was less than the PTWI recommended by the Joint FAO/WHO expert committee on food additives.

• Journal of Food Hygiene and Safety
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• v.4 no.1
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• pp.21-27
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• 1989

This study was performed to investigate the mercury concentration of restaurant meals and to estimate the total dietary intake of mercury. Experimental subjects were 66 cases in 11 kinds of common restaurant meals collected from the Seoul area. Total mercury was determined by Hg-analyzer and two kinds of atomic absorption spectrophotometer (AAS). The results were as follows: 1. Mean value of mercury contents in fluid of meals was about 0.002 ppm and there was no significant difference between the two methods. 2. Mercury concentration of residue by AAS was significantly higher than that by Hg-analyzer. The mean values of mercury concentration were 2.423 ppm, 10.229 ppm and 11.655 ppm by Hg-analyzer, AAS-PE and AAS-Hi, respectively. 3. Dietary intake of mercury from the meals was estimated $7.806\;\mu\textrm{g}/day$ by Hg-analyzer and 31.290, $35.349\;\mu\textrm{g}/day$ by two kinds of AAS. The values were lower than the FAO/WHO limit, $42.9\;\mu\textrm{g}/day$.

• Journal of Environmental Health Sciences
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• v.41 no.4
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• pp.231-240
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• 2015

Objectives: Blood mercury levels among adults living in certain areas of the Gyeongsang Provinces have been shown to be very high (Kunwee County $29.6{\mu}g/L$, Yeongcheon-city $26.7{\mu}g/L$). The purpose of this project was to determine mercury exposure levels in schoolchildren and factors related with their mercury levels in high mercury exposure areas identifyed by the 2007 Korea National Environmental Health Survey. Methods: From June to September 2010, 1,097 students from grades 3 to 6 at 19 elementary schools participated in this study, including 294 students from 10 elementary schools in Kunwee County, 529 students from Yeongcheon City, 122 students from two elementary schools in Pohang City, North Gyeongsang Province, and 152 students from two elementary schools in Ulsan Metropolitan City. Biological samples from schoolchildren, including whole blood, urine and hair, were collected to measure total mercury at the time of a health check up. Information about children was collected by questionnaire. Total mercury concentrations in blood were measured using the Direct Mercury Analyzer 80 with the gold-amalgam collection method. Results: The mean mercury levels were $2.70{\mu}g/L$ in 1,091 blood samples, $2.25{\mu}g/g-creat.$ in 820 urine samples and $1.03{\mu}g/g$ in 1,064 hair samples. Blood mercury levels in the schoolchildren was slightly higher than the result of $2.4{\mu}g/L$ from a 2006 survey of elementary school children on exposure and health effects of mercury by the National Institute of Environmental Research. However, 0.3% and 4.5% of participants exceeded the reference level of blood mercury by CHBMII ($15{\mu}g/L$) and the US EPA ($5.8{\mu}g/L$), respectively. The reference level of urine by CHBMII ($20{\mu}g/L$) was exceeded by 0.4% of participants. As factors, residence period in the study areas, residence type, father's education level and income all showed significant associations with mercury level in the biological samples. The number of dental amalgam sides showed an association with urine mercury. Fish intake preference and fish intake frequency were important factors in mercury levels. In particular, intake of shark meat and recent intake of shark meat were associated with higher mercury levels. In this regard, participation in the performance of an ancestral rite showed a relation with higher mercury levels. Conclusion: The intake of shark meat was very important factor to high mercury exposure level. It is recommended to monitor and manage students with high mercury exposures who exceeded CHBM II and EPA guidelines, and include blood mercury testing in the Children's Health check up for this province.