Titre :
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Human health effects of environmental mercury exposure. Methylmercury dose estimation from umbilical cord concentrations in patients with Minamata disease. (1998)
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Auteurs :
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H. AKAGI ;
P. Grandjean ;
Philippe Grandjean, éd. ;
Y. TAKIZAWA ;
P. WEIHE ;
International Commission on Occupational Health. Scientific Committee on the Toxicology of Metals. INT ;
National Institute for Minamata Disease. Minamata Kumamoto. JPN ;
International Conference on Human Health Effects of Mercury Exposure. (24/06/1997; Torshavn. FRO)
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Type de document :
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Article
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Dans :
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Environmental research (vol. 77, n° 2, 1998)
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Pagination :
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98-103
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Langues:
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Anglais
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Mots-clés :
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Mercure
;
Polluant
;
Japon
;
Asie
;
Taux
;
Cordon ombilical
;
Nouveau né
;
Homme
;
Epidémiologie
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Résumé :
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[BDSP. Notice produite par INIST QBt3R0x3. Diffusion soumise à autorisation]. The methylmercury exposure of patients with congenital or infantile Minamata disease is known only from a small number of analyses of umbilical cords. Four laboratories in Japan have analyzed a total of 176 samples of umbilical cord tissue obtained from Minamata. The highest concentrations were seen in cord tissue from children born during 1950-1965, i.e., the peak period of acetaldehyde production in Minamata before installation of waste water treatment. Twenty-four samples from patients diagnosed with Minamata disease showed a median mercury concentration of 1.63 mug/g and differed significantly from levels seen in cord tissue from control children. However, children diagnosed with mental retardation had mercury concentrations in cord that were intermediate between the two other groups. Using regression coefficients obtained at a study conducted at the Faroe Islands, the median cord mercury concentration from the children with Minamata disease is estimated to correspond to about 216 mug/L cord blood and 41 mug/g in maternal hair. Based on correlations reported in the literature, the median daily mercury intake of the women whose children developed Minamata disease can then be estimated at about 225 mug. Although these children had fully developed Minamata disease, the estimates of median mercury levels are only four to five times higher than current mercury exposure limits.
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