Trace Element Speciation Laboratory, University of Aberdeen, Department of Chemistry, Aberdeen, UK.
Government of Pakistan Ministry of Climate Change, LG & RD Complex, Islamabad, Pakistan.
Sci Rep. 2018 Feb 27;8(1):3675. doi: 10.1038/s41598-018-20544-5.
Occupational exposure of chloralkali workers to highly concentrated mercury (Hg) vapour has been linked to an increased risk of renal dysfunction and behavioural changes. It is generally believed that these workers are exposed to elemental Hg, which is used in abundance during the production process however, the lack in analytical techniques that would allow for identification of gaseous Hg species poses a challenge, which needs to be addressed in order to reach a consensus. Here, we present the results from simulated exposure studies, which provide sound evidence of higher adsorption rate of HgCl than Hg and its irreversible bonding on the surface of hair. We found that chloralkali workers were exposed to HgCl, which accumulated in extremely high concentrations on the hair surface, more than 1,000 times higher than expected from unexposed subjects and was positively correlated with Hg levels in the finger- and toenails.
职业性暴露于高浓度汞（Hg）蒸气的氯碱工人患肾功能障碍和行为改变的风险增加。人们普遍认为，这些工人接触的是元素汞，在生产过程中大量使用，但缺乏能够识别气态 Hg 物种的分析技术，这是一个挑战，需要解决以达成共识。在这里，我们展示了模拟暴露研究的结果，这些结果为 HgCl 的吸附率高于 Hg 以及其在头发表面的不可逆键合提供了有力的证据。我们发现，氯碱工人接触到 HgCl，它在头发表面积累的浓度极高，比未暴露于 HgCl 的对照组高出 1000 多倍，并且与指（趾）甲中的 Hg 水平呈正相关。
