in preparation

• Main Authors: Minerals Management Service, B. K. Lasorsa, R. J. Cltterman
• Other Authors: The Pennsylvania State University CiteSeerX Archives
• Format: Text
• Language: English
• Published: 1993
• Subjects: Nome; Alaska
• Online Access: http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/summary?doi=10.1.1.376.448; http://www.arlis.org/docs/vol1/A/294916157.pdf

Eighty samples of hair from women of child-bearing age from Nome, Alaska, and seven control samples from women living in the Sequim, Washington, area were analyzed: for mercury concentration by segmental analysis in an effort to determine whether seasonal fluctuations in mercury concentration in the hair samples can be correlated to seasonal seafood consumption. Fulllength hair strands were analyzed in I.I-cm segments representing I month's growth using a strong acid digestion and cold vapor atomic fluorescence analysis. It is assumed that the concentration of mercury in each segment;s an indicator of the mercury body burden of the subject during the month in which the segment emerged from the sca1p. When mercury concentration versus month of growth is plotted for each participant, a number of trends are seen. Forty of the hair samples, including one control, are either too short to show any particular trend or have steady concentrations between 0.2 and 3 ppm for all segments. Eighteen of the samples show seasonal variabilitYt with five of the controls showing