Monitoring mercury environment pollution through bioaccumulation in meconium

• Industrial sources of mercury pollution.
• Mercury in environment.
• Mercury distribution through food chain.
• Accumulation of mercury in human body.

In this study, bioaccumulation of mercury in humans was examined by performing analysis on 165 meconium samples of newborn children in Split and Dalmatian County. Total mercury determination was performed on the Advanced Mercury Analyser AMA 254 without previous sample preparation. Mercury was identified from all examined samples, where mean value of concentration for the whole studied group was 58.19 ng g−1, median 35.69 ng g−1 and concentration range from 3.04 to 394.69 ng g−1, respectively. The analysis of the results showed correlation of mercury concentration in meconium with sociodemographic characteristics of the studied group such us living residence place, dietary habits and influence of amalgam fillings. The highest concentrations of mercury were observed in the group in which mothers consumed fish, particularly in the coastal living area. Slightly higher concentrations of mercury in samples were found in the urban living area compared to the rural residence. This was probably due to the strong effect of disposed mercury from the industrial plants into the environment of Split and Dalmatian County during last 50 years. The relation of sea food consumption and mercury content in meconium samples, confirms that food path is responsible for its bioaccumulation and biomagnification from the environment into the living organisms, particularly in humans.

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