To evaluate the mercury (Hg) exposure level of children located in a Hg mining area, total Hg concentrations and speciation were determined in hair and urine samples of children in the Wanshan Hg mining area, Guizhou Province, China. Rice samples consumed by these same children were also collected for total mercury (THg) and methyl-mercury (MeHg) analysis. The geometric mean concentrations of THg and MeHg in the hair samples were 1.4 (range 0.50–6.0) μg/g and 1.1 (range 0.35–4.2) μg/g, respectively, while the geometric mean concentration of urine Hg (UHg) was 1.4 (range 0.09–26) μg/g Creatinine (Cr). The average of the probable daily intake (PDI) of MeHg via rice consumption was 0.052 (0.0033–0.39) µg/kg/day, which significantly correlated with the hair MeHg concentrations (r = 0.55, p < 0.01), indicating that ingestion of rice is the main pathway of MeHg exposure for children in this area. Furthermore, 18% (26/141) of the PDIs of MeHg exceeded the USEPA Reference Dose (RfD) of 0.10 µg/kg/day, indicating that children in this area are at a high MeHg exposure level. This paper for the first time evaluates the co-exposure levels of IHg and MeHg of children living in Wanshan mining area, and revealed the difference in exposure patterns between children and adults in this area.
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机译：为了评估位于汞矿区的儿童的汞（Hg）暴露水平，对中国贵州省万山汞矿区儿童的头发和尿液样本中的总汞浓度和形态进行了测定。还收集了这些孩子食用的大米样品，以进行总汞（THg）和甲基汞（MeHg）分析。头发样本中THg和MeHg的几何平均浓度分别为1.4（0.50–6.0）μg/ g和1.1（0.35–4.2）μg/ g，而尿Hg（UHg）的几何平均浓度为1.4 （范围0.09–26）微克/克肌酐（铬）。每天通过大米摄入的MeHg的平均每日摄入量（PDI）为0.052（0.0033–0.39）µg / kg /天，这与头发中的MeHg浓度显着相关（r = 0.55，p <0.01），表明摄入了水稻是该地区儿童接触甲基汞的主要途径。此外，有18％（26/141）的MeHg PDI超过了USEPA参考剂量（RfD）的0.10 µg / kg /天，表明该地区的儿童MeHg暴露水平很高。本文首次评估了万山矿区儿童IHg和MeHg的共同暴露水平，揭示了该地区儿童与成人的暴露方式差异。
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