Mercury levels and potential risk from subsistence foods from the Aleutians
Mercury levels and potential risk from subsistence foods from the Aleutians
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DOI：
10.1016/j.scitotenv.2007.05.004
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发表时间：
2007-10-01
影响因子：
9.8
通讯作者：
Weston, Jim
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Burger, Joanna;Gochfeld, Michael;Weston, Jim
世界各地的自给性食品（特别是鱼类）中的污染物（主要是多氯联苯和汞）受到了相当大的关注。然而，相对而言，很少有人注意到对某个特定地区各种维生食品中汞含量的审查。虽然管理人员和科学家根据污染物水平和消费率的具体地点数据计算风险，但自给人群做出风险决策的第一步是了解他们所吃食物中汞的相对水平。这项研究检查了阿拉斯加阿留申群岛西部几个岛屿的自给性食物（可食用成分）中的汞含量，包括藻类（4种）、无脊椎动物（9种）、鱼类（15种）和鸟类（5种）。样本由自给性猎人/渔民和科学家使用相同的设备采集。另一个目标是确定从不同的阿留申群岛采集的维生食品中的汞含量是否存在差异。我们检验了零假设，即汞水平没有种间和种间差异。由于分布上的差异以及狩猎和捕鱼的性质，并不是所有的生物都是从每个岛屿上收集的。物种间汞含量存在显著差异，但位置差异较小。藻类/某些无脊椎动物与鱼类/鸟类之间存在数量级差异。即使在鱼类中，也存在显著差异。平均汞含量最高的是比目鱼（Hippoglossoides elassodon，0.277 ppm）、黄爱尔兰勋爵（Hemilepidotus.jardani，0.281 ppm）、大杜父鱼（Myoxocephalus polyacanthocephalus，0.366 ppm）、灰翅鸥（Larus glaucescens，0.329 ppm）及其卵（0.364 ppm）和鸽子海鸠（Cepphus columba，0.494 ppm）。汞含量增加的生物体的重量帽贝（盾盖），并为I I的15种鱼类检查。15种鱼类中有9种的一些样品超过0.3 ppm水平，15种鱼类中有7种的一些样品超过0.5 ppm。在鸟类中，95%的鸽子肌肉样品高于0.3ppm，43%高于0.5ppm。虽然卫生专业人员可能会争论吃鱼的风险和好处，以及吃替代蛋白质来源，但应该向公众提供足够的信息，让他们做出明智的决定。对于那些消耗大量自捕食物的自给者来说尤其如此，尤其是对于敏感的亚群体，如孕妇。我们认为，与其向人们提供吃鱼的健康益处或风险的笼统声明，还应提供关于各种维生食品的平均和最高汞含量的信息，以便做出明智的决定，特别是那些风险最大的人。由爱思唯尔公司出版
Considerable attention has been devoted to contaminants (mainly PCBs and mercury) in subsistence foods (particularly fish) from various parts of the world. However, relatively little attention has been devoted to examining mercury levels in a full range of subsistence foods from a particular region. While managers and scientists compute risk based on site-specific data on contaminant levels and consumption rates, a first step in making risk decisions by subsistence peoples is knowledge about the relative levels of mercury in the foods they eat. This study examined levels of mercury in subsistence foods (edible components) from several islands in the western Aleutians of Alaska, including algae (4 species), invertebrates (9 species), fish (15 species) and birds (5 species). Samples were gathered by both subsistence hunters/fishers and by scientists using the same equipment. Another objective was to determine if there were differences in mercury levels in subsistence foods gathered from different Aleutian islands. We tested the null hypotheses that there were no interspecific and interisland differences in mercury levels. Because of variation in distribution and the nature of subsistence hunting and fishing, not all organisms were collected from each of the islands. There were significant and important differences in mercury levels among species, but the locational differences were rather small. There was an order of magnitude difference between algae/some invertebrates and fish/birds. Even within fish, there were significant differences. The highest mean mercury levels were in flathead sole (Hippoglossoides elassodon, 0.277 ppm), yellow irish lord (Hemilepidotus.jardani, 0.281 ppm), great sculpin (Myoxocephalus polyacanthocephalus, 0.366 ppm), glaucous-winged gull (Larus glaucescens, 0.329 ppm) and its eggs (0.364 ppm), and pigeon guillemot (Cepphus columba, 0.494 ppm). Mercury levels increased with increasing weight of the organisms for limpets (Tectura scutum), and for I I of the 15 fish species examined. Nine of the 15 fish species had some samples over the 0.3 ppm level, and 7 of 15 fish had some samples over 0.5 ppm. For birds, 95% of the pigeon guillernot muscle samples were above the 0.3 ppm, and 43% were above 0.5 ppm. While health professionals may argue about the risk and benefits of eating fish, and of eating alternative protein sources, the public should be provided with enough information for them to make informed decisions. This is particularly true for subsistence people who consume large quantities of self-caught foods, particularly for sensitive sub-populations, such as pregnant women. We argue that rather than giving people blanket statements about the health benefits or risks from eating fish, information on mean and maximum mercury levels should also be provided on a wide range of subsistence foods, allowing informed decisions, especially by those most at risk. Published by Elsevier B.V.