ArticleBiological trace element research2022
Analysis of the Mercury Distribution in Blood as a Potential Tool for Exposure Assessment - Results from Two Artisanal and Small-Scale Gold Mining Areas in Zimbabwe.
Article in Biological trace element research, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. An erratum has been issued. Cited by 1 paper.
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
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1 citing paper in PubMed, 4 citations in OpenAlex.
- Nutritional Profile of Children, Adolescents, and Women Living in Areas Potentially Affected by Heavy Metal Pollutants from the Revuè River in the Manica Province, Mozambique.Epidemiologia (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
Corrections and comments
- Erratum issued
Authors and funding
9 authors at 4 institutions in 5 countries.
Funding
Abstract
People in artisanal and small-scale gold mining (ASGM) areas are frequently exposed to high levels of mercury (Hg). Hg analyses in urine and whole blood are the gold standard of biomonitoring, although this may not provide sufficient information about the source of exposure, e.g., due to the use of Hg for gold extraction or due to nutrition. To evaluate, whether the pharmacokinetic properties of individual Hg species may be useful for exposure assessment, we determined the Hg levels in different blood components from 199 participants. Therefore, whole blood was centrifuged on-site to yield erythrocytes and plasma. Globin was isolated from the erythrocytes by precipitation with ethyl acetate. Albumin was isolated from plasma by gradual precipitation with saturated ammonium sulfate solution. Hg levels in all samples were determined by using a direct Hg analyzer. Median Hg levels for whole blood, erythrocytes, and plasma were 2.7, 3.7, and 1.3 μg/l, respectively. In globin and albumin, median Hg levels were 10.3 and 7.9 μg/kg, respectively. The distribution of Hg was strongly correlated with whole blood Hg levels (p < 0.01) and the time between the last use of Hg and the date of the participation (p < 0.01). The results suggest that the distribution of Hg in blood is substantially affected by the extent and the frequency of the exposure to elemental Hg. Therefore, the analysis of Hg in erythrocytes and plasma may be a valuable tool for Hg exposure assessment in ASGM areas.
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