Wednesday, February 1, 2006
Private File Attachment:
Fish! They aren’t just a source of protein, nutrition and ancient tradition; sadly they can also be a source of Methylmercury. This unfortunate reality is discussed in Canuel, Grosbois and Atikesse’s article that proposes new evidence on human consumption of fish and its risk factors. Observations were made on test subjects in a provocative new way, whereas older surveys of mercury poisoning were only done using human hair samples Canuel et. Al theorized that they could combine human hair sample data then relate that signal to actual fish consumption patterns among populations. First fisherman of the Abtibbi tribe allowed the team to ride along with their boats so they could test the fish tissues as they came in fresh off the boat. The hair of the same fisherman was tested for mercury. Then finally, consumption patterns were discovered through qualitative surveys, which asked about frequency of consumption, types consumed and more factors. Exactly three regions of fisherman and families were tested. The actual amounts of mercury discovered in each region are accessible by reading table 1. Overall this data will be useful to those studying mercury poisoning.