ELEMENTAL MERCURY AND INORGANIC MERCURY COMPOUNDS:
HUMAN HEALTH ASPECTS World Health Organization 2003
Concise International Chemical Assessment Document 50
Published under the joint sponsorship of the United Nations Environment Programme, the
International Labour Organization, and the World Health Organization, and produced within the framework of the Inter-Organization Program for the Sound Management of Chemicals.
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6.2 Human exposure
Estimates of average daily intake of inorganic mercury (both mercury vapour and inorganic mercury compounds) by various routes in humans are summarized in Table 1
Table 1: Estimated average daily intake (retention) of inorganic mercury.
INtake (Retention) (ug)a
| Medium | Mercury Vapour | Inorganic Hg Compounds | Reference |
| Atmosphere | 0.04–0.2 (0.03–0.16)b | 0c | IPCS, 1991 |
| Food: Fish | 0 | 0.6d (0.06) | IPCS, 1991 |
| Food: Non-fish | 0 | 3.6 (0.36) | IPCS, 1991 |
| Drinking-water | 0 | 0.05 (0.005) | IPCS, 1991 |
| Dental amalgam | 1.2–27 (1–21.6) | 0 | ATSDR, 1999 |
| Total | 1.2–27 (1–22) | 4.3 (0.43) | |
a. Figures in parentheses are the amounts retained that were estimated from the pharmacokinetic parameters; i.e., 80% of inhaled vapour and 10% of inorganic mercury are retained.
b. Assumes an air concentration of 2–10 ng/m3 and a daily respiratory volume of 20 m3.
c. For the purposes of comparison, it is assumed that the atmospheric concentrations of species of mercury other than mercury vapour are negligible.
d. It is assumed that 20% of the total mercury in edible fish tissues is in the form of inorganic mercury compounds. It should be noted that fish intake may vary considerably between individuals and across populations. Certain communities whose major source of protein is fish may exceed this estimated inorganic mercury intake by an order of magnitude or more.