Mercury concentrations in canned and fresh fish and its accumulation in a population of Port Moresby residents.

Five varieties of canned fish and hair specimens from 243 subjects in Port Moresby have been analysed for organic and total mercury. The mean concentrations of total mercury in the canned fish were 0.45 mg/kg for tuna, 0.21 mg/kg for salmon, 0.17 mg/kg for mackerel, 0.08 mg/kg for sardines and 0.04 mg/kg for pilchard, based on the weight of the fish. The mean hair concentration was 2.1 mg/kg, the standard deviation 1.8 mg/kg and the range 0.15 to 14.4 mg/kg. The total mercury levels in hair were significantly higher for coastal people than for non-coastals. Although this is probably due to the greater fish intake of the coastal people, no significant correlation was found between fish consumption and hair mercury levels.