Mothers are burdened with mercury by fish consumption

Increased mercury exposure in mothers and children due to fish consumption

17/12/2012

The mercury exposure of mothers and their children increases with increasing fish consumption, reports the Federal Environment Agency from the results of the measurements of the first single European research project on human biomonitoring (HBM). Within the framework of the project, the pollution levels in human tissue and body fluids were investigated.

The higher the fish consumption was, the higher the level of mercury among mothers and their children, reports the news agency „dpa“ from the results of human biomonitoring. The current research project took into account the data of 1,844 mothers and their children from 17 nations. The exposure to mercury, cadmium, cotinine and phthalates was recorded.

Using a hair analysis, researchers determined the mercury burden of mothers and their children. While in some countries 40 times higher mercury concentrations were found than in other European countries, the values ​​in Germany were below the average of 0.145 micrograms per gram of hair in children and 0.225 micrograms in mothers „dpa“. The evaluation of the data of 120 German mothers and their six- to eleven-year-old children showed values ​​of 0.055 micrograms per gram of hair in the children and 0.113 micrograms in the mothers.

Fish as the cause of mercury pollution
According to the experts, the main reason for the mercury exposure in humans is the accumulation of the pollutant in the tissue of fish. Fish consumption is the only potential source of mercury intake in the human diet. Even the smallest amounts of contaminated fish can lead to a significant increase in the level of mercury in our organism and can cause serious health problems. According to information from the German Federal Environment and Nature Conservation Agency (BUND), previous investigations by the European Commission had already revealed that people from the Mediterranean region, who live in communities where fishing still plays a key role, had increased mercury pollution. It is the „Amount of load so big“ been, „that she will certainly cause neurological damage to her children.“ In Germany, however, fish consumption is significantly below the European average, so that the level of mercury among mothers and children in this country is correspondingly lower.

Pollution pollution of the population must be further reduced
In the human biomonitoring research project, increased burdens of mothers and children with cotinine due to smoking or passive smoking were found. Here, the Federal Environmental Agency spoke in favor of a better protection against secondhand smoke, as nearly half of the examined children were exposed to passive smoking outside their own home, reports the news agency „dpa“. Overall, the HBM show that many people are still exposed to too high a pollutant load and this must be reduced in terms of health, the conclusion of the Federal Environmental Agency. (Fp)

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