MercuNorth – monitoring mercury in pregnant women from the Arctic as a baseline to assess the effectiveness of the Minamata Convention
- DOI
- Language of the publication
- English
- Date
- 2021-06-03
- Type
- Article
- Author(s)
- Adlard, Bryan
- Lemire, Mélanie
- Bonefeld-Jørgensen, Eva C.
- Long, Manhai
- Ólafsdóttir, Kristín
- Odland, Jon O.
- Rautio, Arja
- Myllynen, Päivi
- Sandanger, Torkjel M.
- Dudarev, Alexey A.
- Bergdahln, Ingvar A.
- Wennberg, Maria
- Berner, James
- Ayotte, Pierre
- Publisher
- Taylor and Francis Group
Abstract
Exposure to mercury (Hg) is a global concern, particularly among Arctic populations that rely on the consumption of marine mammals and fish which are the main route of Hg exposure for Arctic populations.The MercuNorth project was created to establish baseline Hg levels across several Arctic regions during the period preceding the Minamata Convention. Blood samples were collected from 669 pregnant women, aged 18–44 years, between 2010 and 2016 from sites across the circumpolar Arctic including Alaska (USA), Nunavik (Canada), Greenland, Iceland, Norway, Sweden, Northern Lapland (Finland) and Murmansk Oblast (Russia). Descriptive statistics were calculated, multiple pairwise comparisons were made between regions, and unadjusted linear trend analyses were performed.Geometric mean concentrations of total Hg were highest in Nunavik (5.20 µg/L) and Greenland (3.79 µg/L), followed by Alaska (2.13 µg/L), with much lower concentrations observed in the other regions (ranged between 0.48 and 1.29 µg/L). In Nunavik, Alaska and Greenland, blood Hg concentrations have decreased significantly since 1992, 2000 and 2010 respectively with % annual decreases of 4.7%, 7.5% and 2.7%, respectively.These circumpolar data combined with fish and marine mammal consumption data can be used for assessing long-term Hg trends and the effectiveness of the Minamata Convention.
Plain language summary
Health Canada is responsible for the assessment and management of potential health risks associated with exposure to chemicals in the environment. Health Canada also participates in international working groups such as the Arctic Monitoring Assessment Program (AMAP), which is mandated to monitor and assess long-range transboundary contaminants in the Arctic, document levels and trends, and produce sound science-based policy-relevant assessments to inform policy and decision-making processes. The AMAP Human Health Assessment Group (HHAG) is an international expert working group and has produced human health assessment reports that have provided a scientific base of knowledge regarding human exposure to persistent organic pollutants (POPs) and metals in the Arctic, and associated human health concerns. Members of the HHAG developed an internationally coordinated MercuNorth project. Blood samples from pregnant women were collected from several regions across the circumpolar Arctic, including Alaska (USA), Nunavik (Canada), Greenland, Reykjavik (Iceland), Bodo (Norway), Kiruna (Sweden), Northern Lapland (Finland), and Pechenga district (Russia). Blood concentrations of total mercury were measured, and the highest concentrations were observed in Nunavik and Greenland, followed by Alaska, while concentrations in other Arctic regions were much lower. Supplementary time trend data available from the Nunavik and Alaska regions were statistically analysed, and indicated that concentrations have steadily declined since 1992 and 2000 respectively. Since no decreasing trends in Hg worldwide emissions were reported until 2016, this suggests that the decline in Hg exposure among pregnant women in these regions is primarily due to a decline in fish and marine mammal consumption. Due to the timing of the MercuNorth sample collection period (2009-2016), which was prior to the ratification of the Minamata Convention in 2017, this biomonitoring data can be used as a baseline for comparison against the results of future Arctic biomonitoring, and for the evaluation of the effectiveness of the Minamata Convention.
Subject
- Health,
- Health and safety