Mercury exposure from fish consumption in subsistence fishers in rural Oklahoma

描述（由申请人提供）：该项目的目标是确定俄克拉荷马州东北部的少数民族（美洲原住民、西班牙裔和密克罗尼西亚人）和休闲垂钓者是否暴露于因生计捕鱼而导致的汞含量升高的环境中。研究地点位于俄克拉何马州渥太华县及其周围，位于大湖流域。该流域可能受到当地和区域大气汞沉积源的影响，但对该流域的汞污染和生物积累程度知之甚少。由于甲基汞作为一种神经毒素的作用及其在食物网内生物放大的趋势，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而接触汞的关注，将包括食物频率问卷调查、测量头发汞浓度作为汞接触的生物标志物，以及测量常见食用当地鱼类的汞浓度。该项目的主要目的是：(1)确定生活在渥太华县捕获和食用大湖流域鱼类的人，特别是少数民族人口（美洲原住民，西班牙裔，密克罗尼西亚人），与同一地理社区的其他不经常食用当地鱼类的居民相比，与美国总人口相比，是否有更高的汞负担；(2)测量通常从大湖及其主要支流捕获和食用的鱼类体内的汞浓度；(3)通过教育社区成员了解常见食用鱼类中的汞浓度，包括长度、采样地点和季节的信息，促进安全的自给渔业；(4)制定以社区为基础的教育计划，使社区成员能够在更知情的层面上参与监管过程；(5)通过与州和地区机构合作，制定鱼类消费建议，保护自给自足的渔民并促进减少汞排放，促进长期降低鱼类和人类接触的汞浓度。我们的最终目标是减少汞接触，同时消除对可能不必要地限制消费率的汞污染的担忧，并促进加强文化和家庭纽带的生存活动。

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.