Mercury Burden of Human Autopsy Organs and Tissues

Abstract

Flameless atomic absorption spectroscopy was used to assay the total mercury burden in 14 autopsied organs and tissues from 113 persons. Their ages ranged from 26 weeks of gestation to 88 years. Over 70% of all assays, irrespective of organs or age, had a burden of less than 0.25μg/gm of wet weight. Less than 10% had more than 0.75μg/gm. The kidney was the organ with the most variable burden, 29% of the assays being above 0.75μg/ gm. The burden in fetal organs was more uniform than those in postnatal life. Multivariate statistical analysis suggests that the urban population has a somewhat greater mercury burden than the rural. Our data did not reveal a statistically significant increase with age, suggesting that past environmental exposure levels did not exceed the capacity of the body to eliminate mercury.