Exposure of the urban population to mercury in Changchun city, Northeast China.

An assessment of exposure to mercury in Changchun city has been undertaken. We estimated Hg exposure to members of the general population based on currently available information and our research. We also studied the Hg concentrations in scalp hair of adults. Adults have an estimated intake of all Hg species via all routes of 6.780 microg day(-1) (excluding dental amalgam), which equates to an absorbed dose of 1.718 microg day(-1). Fish consumption was the most important exposure route (12% of intake, 43% of absorbed dose). Furthermore, air, cereals and vegetables were important exposure routes, and these exposure were estimated for absorbed dosed at 0.296, 0.209 and 0.318 microg day(-1), respectively. The mean Hg concentration in hair was 0.448 microg g(-1) (range 0.092-10.463 microg g(-1)). Hg concentration in the hair of males was 0.422 microg g(-1) (0.105-2.665 microg g(-1)), and was 0.474 microg g(-1)(0.092-10.463 microg g(-)1) in the hair of females. Neither place of residence nor age had any significant effect on hair Hg concentrations.