Table 10.
Hair mercury levels in the Madeira River Basin
| Studied population | Location | N | Hg mean μg/g (median) [SD] |
Range μg/g | > 10 μg/ga | Fish consumption |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| General population | ||||||
| Bastos et al. 2006 | Various populations along the Madeira River | 713 | 15.2 (12.5) [9.6] | 0.36-150.0 | >50% | 7 meals/week |
| Boischio & Barbosa 1993 | Near Porto Velho | 311 | ≈ (10) | ?-303.1 | 51% | 200 g/dayb |
| Mothers and their infants | ||||||
| Barbosa & Dorea 1998 | Near Porto Velho | |||||
| Mothers | 98 | 14.1 (12.8) [10.7] | 2.6-94.7 | >50% | ||
| Infants | 71 | 10.8 (7.8) [8.5] | 0.8-44.4 | |||
| Boschio & Cernichiari 1998 | Near Porto Velho | |||||
| Mothers | 12 | 4.0-41.0 | ||||
| Infants | 12 | 8.2-50.4 | ||||
| Boischio & Henshel 2000 | Near Porto Velho | |||||
| Mothers | 90 | 12.6 [6.5] | 15.0-45.0 | |||
| Infants | 89 | 10.2 [7.2] | 1.0-34.2 | |||
| Marques et al. 2007 | Porto Velho city | |||||
| Mothers | 82 | (5.4) | 0.4-62.4 | 1 meal/week | ||
| Infants | 82 | (1.8) | 0.02-32.9 | |||
aPercentage of the population with hair mercury levels higher than 10 μg/g. bFrom the Letter to the Editor Boischio Environ Research 2000; 82:91-92