Dietary exposure and risk assessment of mercury via total diet study in Cambodia

To assess the daily intakes of total mercury (THg) and methylmercury (MeHg) and the possible adverse health impacts, different food groups including fish, meat, vegetable and rice were collected from three areas in Cambodia. The concentrations of THg and MeHg ranged from 0.16 to 171 ng g−1 and not detected (ND) to 82.3 ng g−1 wet weight (ww), respectively. The concentrations of THg and MeHg in fish were approximately three to four orders of magnitude greater than that in fruit and vegetable. Fish had the highest contribution to the total daily intakes of THg and MeHg. The estimated daily intake (EDI) of THg for the general population in Kampong Cham, Kratie and Kandal was 0.24, 1.38 and 0.22 μg kg−1 bw d−1, and 0.11, 0.45 and 0.06 μg kg−1 bw d−1 for MeHg, respectively. The dietary daily intakes of MeHg in Kratie and Kampong Cham were greater than the reference dose (RfD) imposed by The United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) and in Kratie was also exceed the provisional tolerable weekly intake (PTWI) imposed by World Health Organization (WHO). To our knowledge, this the first study to evaluate the daily intakes of THg and MeHg in Cambodia.

► Mercury concentration in daily foodstuffs collected from Cambodia.
► The levels of Hg in fish were significant higher than that in other food groups.
► Rice and fish contributed significantly to the total daily intakes of THg and MeHg.
► The foodstuffs from Kratie and Kampong Cham have health risk to the local population.