Determination of total mercury in human hair and animal fur by combustion atomic absorption spectrometry.

A commercially available mercury (Hg) analyzer based on sample combustion, gold amalgamation, and atomic absorption spectrometry (AAS) was evaluated for the direct determination of Hg in composites of human hair and individual samples of horse fur. Results for human hair reference material (NIES No. 13) were within the certified range. Analyses of "blind" samples from an international interlaboratory (n>16) comparison study produced results within 1S.D. of the consensus means. Precision (%R.S.D.) was found to be <5% and total analyses time per sample was <10min. This study demonstrated that analyzers based on combustion-AAS are suitable for wide-scale monitoring of Hg in human hair and animal fur.

Distribution of mercury in the tissues of five species of freshwater fish from Lake Mead, USA.

Total mercury (Hg) concentrations were determined in seven tissues (skeletal muscle, liver, blood, gonad, brain, gill, and heart) of 59 striped bass and four tissues (muscle, liver, blood, and gonad) of 69 largemouth bass, 76 channel catfish, 12 bluegill, and 22 blue tilapia collected from Lake Mead, USA. Mercury levels generally increased according to trophic level and fish length. For striped bass, mean Hg levels (ng g(-1), wet mass) were highest in the liver (531), followed by muscle (309), heart (186), gonad (136), brain (77), gill (52), and blood (36). Similarly, Hg levels in the catfish and tilapia were liver > muscle > gonad > blood. In contrast, largemouth bass and bluegill had the highest levels in muscle, followed by liver, gonad, and blood. Generally, Hg levels were strongly correlated among the tissues, especially for blood/muscle and blood/liver. As the body burden of Hg increased, the concentration in blood and organs increased relative to the concentration in muscle. The trend was most pronounced for the liver. These relationships could form the basis of a predictive model and suggest that blood and muscle (plugs) could be useful for a non-lethal measure of Hg concentration and exposure in fish. For the striped bass, elevated Hg levels in the tissues were also correlated with degree of emaciation. Liver-to-muscle ratios were similar to literature values, except for tilapia with an average ratio of approximately 1.7, which is higher than generally reported for non-piscivores. Finally, this study demonstrates the usefulness of a solid sampling approach in trace element monitoring, especially as pertaining to in vivo analysis, analysis of a large number of samples and reduction of contamination risk.

Mercury concentrations in fish from Lake Mead, USA, related to fish size, condition, trophic level, location, and consumption risk.

Total mercury (Hg) concentrations were determined in the skeletal muscle of 339 fish collected during the fall of 1998 and spring of 1999 from Lake Mead, USA, the nation's largest human-made reservoir. Five species of fish representing a range of trophic levels and the lake's principal game fishes were studied. Hg generally increased with trophic level and fish size. Median Hg concentrations (ng/g wet mass) were 277 in striped bass, 168 in channel catfish, 160 in largemouth bass, 75 in bluegill, and 8 in blue tilapia. Overall, fish from Las Vegas Bay and Boulder Basin had the lowest Hg concentrations, possibly a result of biodilution in this biologically productive area. In general, fish-mercury advisories might include a warning about consuming fillet from emaciated fish, based on the finding that Hg concentrations in 59 striped bass (captured during a scarce-food season) correlated inversely ( r = -0.89, p < 0.001) with a fish nutritional-status factor. This is consistent with starvation-concentration, whereby Hg in fish muscle is lost at a slower rate than the muscle mass. The median concentration found for 139 striped bass corresponds to a recommended risk-based consumption limit of three 8-oz. (227-g) meals per month for a 70-kg adult. Finally, this paper serves as a useful archive for future research and long-term studies of Hg in Lake Mead fish.

Resolving Nevada test site and global fallout plutonium in attic dust and soils using 137Cs/239+240Pu activity ratios.

A simple equation using only 137Cs/239+240Pu activity ratios was developed and evaluated as a means of resolving the plutonium in attic dust and soil from Nevada and Utah that came from Nevada Test Site fallout from that which came from global fallout. Applied to an historical data set of 137Cs and 239+240Pu activity concentrations in soils from Nevada and Utah, the activity ratio method gives results similar to the traditional 240Pu/239Pu isotope mass ratio method. Considering the difficulty and expense of determining the 240Pu/239Pu atom ratios, this activity ratio method is simpler, faster, and less costly, and may be useful for detecting and/or monitoring plutonium contamination in soils. Applied to samples of attic dust and soil collected from throughout southern Nevada and Utah during 1996 and 1997, it was found that all sites surveyed showed the presence of Nevada Test Site plutonium. Over 90% of the plutonium found in the samples from Beatty, Tonopah, and Queen City Summit, Nevada, can be attributed to the Nevada Test Site.

Plutonium anomalies in attic dust and soils at locations surrounding the Nevada Test Site.

Attic dust and soil samples were collected during the Summer of 1996 and the Spring of 1997 in southern Nevada and southern Utah. Analysis of the samples for radiocesium and plutonium give activity ratios of radiocesium/plutonium that range from 0.7 +/- 0.1 to 27 +/- 2, well below the world-wide fallout ratio of 34 +/- 4 (as of 1 July 1997). This indicates anomalous plutonium throughout the region, including areas to the south of the Nevada Test Site (NTS), generally believed to have received only world-wide fallout. Safety tests and above-ground detonations that resulted in incomplete fission, conducted at the NTS during the 1950's and 1960's, are likely sources of this excess plutonium.