Indian Institute of Technology Hyderabad Researchers have found that people living in a city with active coal-fired power plants and consuming local aquatic produce may have higher body levels of mercury. They arrived at this finding after analysing the amounts of mercury in the hair of over 600 people in three cities in India. Their study has recently been reported in the Journal of Exposure Science and Environmental Epidemiology, a peer-reviewed a public health journal.
Mercury is a neurotoxin that is distributed in the environment and present in many products encountered in daily life. It is used in industry and consumer products, exists as a natural impurity in ores, is non-degradable, and widely circulates within and between ecosystems.
The Research Team was headed by Dr Asif Qureshi, Associate Professor, Department of Civil Engineering, IIT Hyderabad. The IIT Hyderabad Research team chose three cities for their analysis — Hyderabad, a city in the interior of the country with no specific local mercury source, Vasco da Gama, with again, no specific mercury source but probably more fish-eaters, and Nellore, a coastal city in Andhra Pradesh with several coal-fired power plants.
After collating information on demography, body mass index, dietary patterns, professions and other variables of more than 600 people in these cities, the research team proceeded to analyse the amount of mercury in their bodies.
Speaking about this Study, Dr Qureshi said: “In modern times, the non-occupational exposure of humans to mercury comes from food, especially fish, and rice grown in contaminated fields. Coal-fired power plants are estimated to be the largest emitters of mercury to the atmosphere. The total mercury emissions in India are estimated to become around 540 tons in 2020. In addition to neurotoxicity, mercury has also been implicated in adverse effects on lungs and kidneys, and heart diseases. So, how much of mercury are Indians exposed to?This is a question we attempt to answer.”
“Hair is an excellent indicator of mercury in the body”, adds Dr Qureshi. Hair concentrates mercury and its sampling is non-invasive, making it easy to measure. Accordingly, strands of hair were cut from the occipital (back) region of the heads of participants and analysed using a direct mercury analyser equipment. Statistical analysis was carried out to correlate the amount of mercury found in the hair, with corresponding variables.