Abstract
Several hundred samples of human head hair were analyzed to establish the range and variation of mercury concentration in “normal” people and in persons ingesting organic mercury compounds. Instrumental neutron activation analysis was used. The 77 keV line of197Hg was counted on a Ge(Li) detector. The pattern of concentration variation along hair was shown to be a more reliable criterion for hair individualization than average concentration values. The hair mercury contents of “normal” people in uncontaminated areas were 0.1–4 and 1–12 ppm, respectively. People who had ingested a mercury compound but showed no symptoms had hair mercury concentrations of from a few ppm to 300 ppm. Mild symptoms appeared with a 120–600 ppm hair mercury level, moderate with 200–800 ppm, and severe with 400–1600 ppm. There was no correlation with sex or age, except that infants showed more severe symptoms than expected, and people over 55 had mild or no symptoms with hair mercury levels of 1000 ppm and higher.
This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution.
References
R. E. Jervis, Proc 7th Japan Conf. on Radioisotopes, Tokyo, 1966, p. 455.
R. E. Jervis, Proc. Symp. on Nuclear Activation Techniques in the Life Sciences, IAEA, Vienna, 1967, p. 645.
V. P. Guinn, Proc. 7th Japan Conf. on Radioisotopes, Tokyo, 1966.
V. P. Guinn, Proc. Symp. on Nuclear Activation Techniques in the Life Sciences, IAEA, Vienna, 1967, p. 681.
J. M. A. Lenihan, H. A. Smith, Proc. Intern. Conf. on Peaceful Uses of Atomic Energy, Geneva, 1969.
S. Forshufvud, H. Smith, A. Wassen, Nature, 192 (1961) 103.
H. Smith, J. Forensic Sci. Soc., 4 (1964) 192.
H. A. Shapiro, 4th Intern. Meeting in Forensic Medicine, Copenhagen, 1966.
T. Ukita, A. Ohuchi, Proc. 7th Japan Conf. on Radioisotopes, Tokyo, 1966.
N. E. Erickson, Proc. 1st Intern. Conf. on Forensic Activation Analysis, San Diego, 1966.
T. Ukita, Proc. 2nd Intern, Symp. on Behaviour of Mercury as a Component of Man's Environment, Tokyo, 1968.
A. K. Perkons, R. E. Jervis, Proc. 2nd Intern. Conf. on Modern Trends in Activation Analysis, College Station, Texas, 1965.
R. F. Coleman, J. Forensic Sci. Soc., 6 (1966) 19.
F. W. Lima, H. Shibata, L. T. Atalla, Proc. Symp. Radiochemical Methods of Analysis, IAEA, Vienna, 1965, p. 119.
A. W. Forslev, J. Forensic Sci., 11 (1966) 217.
N. E. Erickson, S. S. Krishnan, A. K. Perhons, Proc. 5th Intern. Criminological Congress, Montreal, 1965.
R. Cornelis, Proc. 2nd Intern. Conf. on Forensic Activation Analysis, Glasgow, J. Radioanal. Chem., 15 (1973) 305.
K. C. Bate, F. F. Dyer, Nucleonics, 23 (1965) No. 10, 74.
L. C. Bate, Intern. J. Appl. Radiation Isotopes, 17 (1966) 417.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Al-Shahristani, H., Al-Haddad, I.K. Mercury content of hair from normal and poisoned persons. J. Radioanal. Chem. 15, 59–70 (1973). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02516558
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02516558
Keywords
- Mercury
- Instrumental Neutron Activation Analysis
- Mercury Concentration
- Methylmercury
- Hair Sample