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Blood mercury concentration among residents of a historic mercury mine and possible effects on renal function: a cross-sectional study in southwestern China

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Abstract

This cross-sectional study aimed to investigate blood mercury (B-Hg) concentration of residents living in the vicinity of Chatian mercury mine (CMM) in southwestern China and to assess the possible effects on renal function. It evaluates the effects of gender and age (children, <18 years; adults, 18–60 years; elderly, >60 years) on the B-Hg and serum creatinine (SCR) and serum urea nitrogen (SUN) levels. In the CMM, elevated levels were found for B-Hg, SCR, and SUN with mean values at 6.09 μg/L, 74.21 μmol/L, and 13.26 mmol/L, which were significantly higher than those in the control area, respectively. Moreover, the coefficients between paired results for B-Hg and SCR and SUN levels were positive at statistical significance (B-Hg vs. SCR, r = 0.45, p < 0.01; B-Hg vs. SUN, r = 0.20, p < 0.05). The aforementioned results revealed that mercury exposure can cause human renal function impairment. B-Hg, SCR, and SUN can also be useful biomarkers to assess the extent of mercury exposure among residents in areas with extensive mining activities. Furthermore, data analysis revealed that there was a tendency for higher B-Hg, SCR, and SUN levels in females than in males, and the levels of B-Hg, SCR, and SUN increased among the older residents. We conclude that females and the elderly in the mining area were more susceptible to mercury exposure, and therefore, they deserve further research.

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported by the Key Project of the Knowledge Innovation Program of IGSNRR (2012ZD002) and the National Science Foundation of China (41040014; 40571008), and the SSRC Collaborative Grants Program supported by the Rockefeller Brothers Fund. The authors are also thankful to Dr. Anna Lora-Wainwright from University of Oxford for reviewing the final draft.

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  1. Institute of Geographical Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 11A Datun Road, Chaoyang District, Beijing, 100101, China

    Yonghua Li, Biao Zhang, Linsheng Yang & Hairong Li

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  1. Yonghua Li
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  2. Biao Zhang
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  4. Hairong Li
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Correspondence to Yonghua Li.

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Li, Y., Zhang, B., Yang, L. et al. Blood mercury concentration among residents of a historic mercury mine and possible effects on renal function: a cross-sectional study in southwestern China. Environ Monit Assess 185, 3049–3055 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-012-2772-0

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