Change of Levels of Urinary Organic Mercury in Groups with Varying Extents of Inorganic Mercury Exposure

Abstract

The level of urinary organic mercury was compared among groups with varying extents of inorganic mercury exposure. It was shown that the level of urinary organic mercury became higher along with the increase of urinary inorganic mercury level. This result suggests three possibilities; (1) the methylation of inorganic mercury may occur, though slight in the extent, in the human body, (2) methylmercury accumulated by the background exposure and bound to the binding site of tissues may be exchanged by inorganic mercury, and (3) the elevation of urinary organic mercury may be only a contingency due to the error of measurements.