Percentage of participants within each tertile of fish consumption that
exceed established H-THg reference levels in μg/g in ASGM affected (left
three bars) and Non-ASGM affected (right three bars) areas. Reference values
indicated include the US National Research Council’s reference value for
non-fish eating populations of 1.2 μg/g corresponding to a reference dose
(RfD) for methylmercury of 0.1 μg/kg bodyweight/day (NRC (National Research Council), 2000); the WHO JEFCA
PTWI 1.6 μg/ kg bodyweight established in 2003 and confirmed in 2006
which Peru adheres to, corresponding to 2.2 μg/g in hair (Joint FAO/WHO
Expert Committee on Food Additives, 2006), and 10 μg/g which WHO
previously established as the level of concern for impact of methylmercury on
the developing fetus of pregnant mothers (World
Health Organization (WHO), 1990), and which is commonly used as a
reference level in the Amazon (Barbieri and
Gardon, 2009).