Mercury exposure from fish consumption in subsistence fishers in rural Oklahoma

描述（由申请人提供）：本项目的目标是确定俄克拉荷马州东北部的种族亚群（美洲原住民、西班牙裔和印第安人）和休闲垂钓者是否暴露于因自给性捕鱼而导致的汞水平升高。研究地点位于格兰德湖流域的俄克拉荷马州渥太华县及其周边地区。该流域可能受到当地和区域大气汞沉积源的影响，但对该流域汞污染和生物累积的程度知之甚少。由于甲基汞作为一种神经毒素的作用及其在食物网中的生物放大倾向，通过食用鱼类接触甲基汞是一个重大的公共卫生问题，特别是在儿童和育龄妇女中。该项目旨在回应社区对通过食用当地鱼类接触汞的关切，并将涉及食物频率问卷、测量头发汞浓度（作为汞接触的生物标志物）以及测量当地常见鱼类中的汞浓度。该项目的主要目的是：（1）确定生活在渥太华县的人们，特别是少数民族人口，是否从格兰德湖流域捕鱼和消费鱼类，（美洲原住民、西班牙裔、拉美裔），与不经常食用当地鱼类的同一地理社区的其他居民相比，以及与一般美国人口相比，汞的体内负荷更高;（2）测量通常从格兰德湖及其主要支流捕捞和消费的鱼类中的汞浓度;（3）通过教育社区成员了解通常消费的鱼类中的汞浓度，包括长度、取样地点和季节等信息，促进安全的自给性捕鱼;（四）发展以社区为本的教育计划，让社区成员在更知情的情况下参与规管过程;以及（5）通过与州和区域机构合作，制定保护自给渔民和促进汞排放减少的鱼类消费标准，促进长期减少鱼类和人类接触汞的浓度。我们的最终目标是减少汞接触，同时解决可能不必要地限制消费率的汞污染恐惧，并促进加强文化和家庭纽带的生计活动。 公共卫生相关性：该项目旨在确定俄克拉荷马州东北部食用大量当地鱼类的人是否通过饮食暴露于不安全的汞水平，并帮助他们找到减少汞摄入量的方法。该项目将涉及社区参与研究的各个阶段，并将强调与社区分享成果和制定持续的教育计划。最终，该项目的结果也可用于制定保护所有人的鱼类消费标准，特别是那些食用大量鱼类的人，并为政府机构提供信息，用于制定控制汞排放到环境中的法规。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The goal of this project is to determine whether ethnic subpopulations (Native Americans, Hispanics, and Micronesians) and recreational anglers in northeastern Oklahoma are exposed to elevated mercury levels resulting from subsistence fishing practices. The study site is located in and around Ottawa County, Oklahoma, in the Grand Lake watershed. This watershed is potentially impacted by local and regional sources of atmospheric mercury deposition, but little is known about the extent of mercury contamination and bioaccumulation in this watershed. Exposure to methyl mercury through consumption of fish is a major public health concern, especially among children and women of childbearing age, due to its role as a neurotoxin and its tendency to biomagnify within food webs. This project was designed in response to community concerns about mercury exposure through consumption of local fish, and will involve a combination of food frequency questionnaires, measurements of hair mercury concentrations as biomarkers of mercury exposure, and measurements of mercury concentrations in commonly-consumed species of local fish. The primary aims of this project are: (1) to determine whether people living in Ottawa County who catch and consume fish from the Grand Lake watershed, particularly members of ethnic populations (Native Americans, Hispanics, Micronesians), have higher body burdens of mercury compared to other residents of the same geographic community that do not frequently consume local fish and compared to the general U.S. population; (2) to measure mercury concentrations in fish species commonly caught and consumed from Grand Lake and its major tributaries; (3) to promote safe subsistence fishing by educating community members about mercury concentrations in commonly consumed fish, including information on length, sampling location and season; (4) to develop a community- based education program that will enable community members to participate in the regulatory process at a more informed level; and (5) to promote long-term reductions in mercury concentrations in fish and human exposure by working with state and regional agencies to develop fish consumption advisories that protect subsistence fishers and promote reductions in mercury emissions. Our ultimate goal is to reduce mercury exposure while simultaneously addressing fears about mercury contamination that may unnecessarily limit consumption rates, and to promote subsistence activities that strengthen cultural and family bonds. PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE: This project is designed to determine whether people who eat large amounts of local fish in northeastern Oklahoma are exposed to unsafe levels of mercury through their diet, and to help them find ways to decrease the amount of mercury they consume. This project will involve community participation at all stages of the research, and will emphasize sharing results with the community and developing ongoing educational programs. Ultimately, the results of this project also may be used to develop fish consumption advisories that protect all people, especially those that eat large amounts of fish, and to provide information for government agencies to use in creating regulations to control mercury emissions into the environment.