Total mercury in human renal cortex, liver, cerebellum and hair

The aim of this study was: (a) to estimate the concentration of total mercu ry in the renal cortex, liver, cerebellum and hair of 46 persons who died s uddenly in the Gdansk region, northern Poland, between the ages of 17 and 9 0; and (b) to assess whether a correlation occurs between mercury content i n the investigated biological media. The mean concentrations of mercury in the human hair, renal cortex, liver and cerebellum were: 378 +/- 315.4 ng/g ; 68.6 +/- 92.3 ng/g; 29.9 +/- 22 ng/g and 5.3 +/- 6.9 ng/g respectively. P ositive correlations were found between mercury levels in: cerebellum and l iver (r = 0.873), cerebellum and hair (r = 0.853), cerebellum and renal cor tex (r = 0.578), hair and liver (r = 0.771), hair and renal cortex (r = 0.4 78) liver and renal cortex (r = 0.66). The geometric mean levels of mercury in the renal cortex, liver, cerebellum and hair in the residents of the Gd ansk region are 15-19 times lower than in the population of Tokyo and its e nvirons [Suzuki T, Hongo T, Yoshinaga J et al. The hair-organ relationship in mercury concentration in contemporary Japanese. Arch Environ Health 1993 ;44:361-365]. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.