• Journal of Korean society of Dental Hygiene
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• v.14 no.3
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• pp.425-430
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• 2014

Objectives : The purpose of this study is to investigate the correlation between amalgam restorations and urinary mercury levels in children for 1 year. Amalgam restoration has been widely used for over 200 years. But released mercury from amalgam can increase the concentration of mercury in the body. Methods : The subjects were 463 elementary school children. Oral examination, urine sampling, and questionnaire survey were performed at baseline and after 1 year. Results : Amalgam restoration increased the urinary mercury level to $0.55{\pm}0.13{\mu}g/g$ creatinine. In the regression analysis, variation of urinary mercury excretion were positively associated with amalgam surfaces and fish consumption. Conclusions : Small amount of mercury release from amalgam restoration was closely associated with increasing urinary mercury level.

• Journal of Soil and Groundwater Environment
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• v.25 no.1
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• pp.53-61
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• 2020

This study assessed the feasibility of coal mine drainage sludge (CMDS) as a stabilizing agent for mercury contaminated soil through pot experiments and batch tests. In the pot experiments with 43 days of lettuce growth, the bioavailability of mercury in the amended soil and mercury content of the lettuce were decreased by 46% and 50%, respectively. These results were similar to those of the soil amended with the sulfide compound (FeS) generally used for mercury stabilization. Thus, CMDS could be an attractive mercury stabilizer in terms of industrial by-product recycling. Batch tests were conducted to examine mercury fractionation including reactions between the soil and acetic acid. The result showed that some elemental fraction changed to strongly bounded fraction rather than residual (HgS) fraction. This made it possible to conclude that mercury adsorption on oxides in CMDS was the major mechanism of stabilization.

• Journal of Korean Society for Atmospheric Environment
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• v.24 no.6
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• pp.693-703
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• 2008

The important source of the mercury in water-column is the influx of atmosphere mercury, via dry and wet deposition. In this study, wet deposition of mercury was estimated to be $14.56{\mu}g/m^2$ during 15 months at the Lake Soyang, which is a little higher than those observed in the several rural US Mercury Deposition Network (MDN) sites with similar precipitation depth. The mercury concentration in precipitation did not show a positive correlation with atmospheric RGM (reactive gaseous mercury) concentration, while maintaining good correlation with atmospheric $PM_{2.5}$ at Soyang Dam. This result suggests that the contribution of particulate Hg to the total Hg wet deposition should be more significant than that of RGM. In this study, both precipitation depth and precipitation type affected the amount of wet deposition and the concurrent mercury levels in precipitation. There was generally an inverse relationship between precipitation depth and Hg concentration in precipitation. Precipitation type was another factor that exerted controls on the Hg concentration in precipitation. As a result, the highest concentration of Hg was observed in snow, followed by in mixture (snow+rain) and in rain.

• Journal of Environmental Health Sciences
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• v.19 no.2
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• pp.78-87
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• 1993

The accumulations of mercury, lactate dehydrogenase and antioxidant enzymes activities of which are glutathione peroxidase, catalase and superoxide dismutase, and pathological changes were investigated in liver and kidney of mice which were fed the water supplemented with two levels (0.5 mM and 1.0 mM) of mercury chloride (HgCl$_2$). During the mercury feeding, the weight gain of mice in experimental groups was less than that of control group mice, while no overt signs related to mercury toxicity were noted in any experimental groups. Mercury concentrations in liver and kidney increased significantly in the early period (1~2 weeks) after mercury administration, which were measured as high as 100 times in liver and kidney in comparison to those of the control groups, but there were relatively stable for the levels of accumulation in following periods. The lactate dehydrogenase activities in liver and kidney were relatively increased in the period of 2~3 weeks of mercury administration in the experimental groups, there were normal levels in other periods of administration without the dose-dependencies. The glutathione peroxidase activities were not affected by the dosages of mercury chloride and the duration of ingestion. But the catalase activities significantly increased in 2~3 weeks after ingestion, and the superoxide dismutase activities of kidney also showed a peak in 3 weeks of ingestion while this peak was not found in the results measured in liver tissues.

• Journal of Energy Engineering
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• v.12 no.2
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• pp.65-73
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• 2003

In Korea, not much interest has been paid yet to mercury among flue gas HAPs (Hazardous Air Pollutants), but mercury is expected to become a major problem in the near future. The present paper investigates the current state of mercury emission and control technologies. Interest of the U.S. and European countries in the area of air pollution has been recently directed to mercury emitted from power plants. There are largely two mercury removal technologies applied to power plants. One is removing mercury by oxidizing elemental mercury in WFGD (Wet Flue Gas Desulfurization), and the other is spraying an adsorbent such as activated carbon or other novel sorbents (low-cost sorbents). Developed country is requiring that all power plants be equipped with mercury control facilities by 2007. This paper aims at contributing to the establishment of future strategies in response to the problem.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.19 no.3
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• pp.335-340
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• 2006

A large number of toxicological substances and pharmacological and physical agents can cause reproductive intervention at the cellular and molecular level. The present study was designed to assess the effect of mercury ($HgCl_2$) at 50 to $550{\mu}M$ concentration ranges, in vitro, on the sperm membrane and DNA integrity, viability, and acrosomal status of normal bull spermatozoa. The samples were processed for sperm analyses using semen-diluting fluid (PBS, pH 7.2). We recorded a sharp increase in the lipid peroxidation/LPO rate; the highest was at $550{\mu}M$ mercury concentration, indicating a deleterious effect of mercury on the sperm membrane intactness. There was also a strong negative correlation between LPO rate and % viable spermatozoa (R = 0.987, p<0.001). Data obtained from a comet assay technique revealed that mercury is capable of inducing DNA breaks in the sperm nuclei. Interestingly, 92% of DNA breaks were double-stranded. The correlation between LPO rate and % DNA breaks was 0.984. Performing the gelatin test indicates that mercury is able to alter the integrity of acrosomal membranes showing an abnormal acrosome reaction. In this regard, a strong link was found between LPO rate and % halos (R = 0.990, p<0.001). Collectively, mercury proved to be a potent oxidant in the category of environmental factors affecting bull spermatozoa. Hence, considering the wide spread use of mercury and its compounds, these metals should be regarded with more concern.

• Journal of Sensor Science and Technology
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• v.23 no.3
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• pp.173-177
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• 2014

A Rhodamine-based fiber-optic sensor has been developed to detect mercury ions in aqueous environments. The fiber-optic sensor was composed of a mercury-sensing thin film, plastic optical fibers, and a spectrometer. The mercury-sensing thin film with the synthesized Rhodamine derivatives was fabricated with Sol-Gel process. A light emitted by a light source is guided by plastic optical fibers into the thin film in an aqueous solution and a reflected light is analyzed with the spectrometer. The experiment exhibits that an absorbance in the thin film is increased as mercury concentration is increased in the solution and the absorbance by mercury is higher than that by other heavy metals. The fiber-optic sensor exhibits high chromogenic phenomenon of mercury ions among various heavy metals and the correlation between absorbance and mercury concentration in the aqueous environments.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.11 no.3
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• pp.259-265
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• 2001

Mercury vapor inhalation-induced acute respiratory failure(ARF) has been reported to be fatal. This study was designed to observe the possible mechanism of inhaled mercury vapor poisoning in the respiratory system. Sixty percent of rats(12/20) exposed to mercury vapor were dead within 72 hours of exposure whereas all the rats(20/20) exposed to mercury vapor combined with dithiothreitol(DTT) vapor survived. The histological observation showed that ARF was a direct cause of the death induced by mercury vapor inhalation, which was significantly circumvented by DTT vapor. Cyclic AMP mediated chloride secretion was inhibited by luminal side but not serosal side sulfhydryl blocking agents (Hf$^{2+}$ $\rho$-chloromercuribenzoic acid or $\rho$-chloromercuriphenyl sulfonic acid) in a dose-dependent manner in a primary cultured rat airway monolayer. The inhibitory component of cAMP induced chloride secretion was completely restored by luminal side DTT(0.5mM). these results suggest that the oxidized form(Hg$^{2+}$) of mercury vapor(Hg0) contribute to ARF and subsequent death. The finding is important as it can provide important information regarding emergency manipulation of ARF patients suffering from by mercury vapor poisoning.ing.

• Safety and Health at Work
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• v.8 no.1
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• pp.1-10
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• 2017

Considerable effort has been made to address the issue of occupational health and environmental exposure to mercury. This review reports on the current literature of mercury exposure and health impacts on dental personnel. Citations were searched using four comprehensive electronic databases for articles published between 2002 and 2015. All original articles that evaluated an association between the use of dental amalgam and occupational mercury exposure in dental personnel were included. Fifteen publications from nine different countries met the selection criteria. The design and quality of the studies showed significant variation, particularly in the choice of biomarkers as an indicator of mercury exposure. In several countries, dental personnel had higher mercury levels in biological fluids and tissues than in control groups; some work practices increased mercury exposure but the exposure levels remained below recommended guidelines. Dental personnel reported more health conditions, often involving the central nervous system, than the control groups. Clinical symptoms reported by dental professionals may be associated with low-level, long-term exposure to occupational mercury, but may also be due to the effects of aging, occupational overuse, and stress. It is important that dental personnel, researchers, and educators continue to encourage and monitor good work practices by dental professionals.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• v.45 no.6
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• pp.335-343
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• 2012

Mercury is emitted to the atmosphere from various natural and anthropogenic sources, and degrades with difficulty in the environment. Mercury exists as various species, mainly elemental ($Hg^0$) and divalent ($Hg^{2+}$) mercury depending on its oxidation states in air and water. Mercury emitted to the atmosphere can be deposited into aqueous environments by wet and dry depositions, and some can be re-emitted into the atmosphere. The deposited mercury species, mainly $Hg^{2+}$, can react with various organic compounds in water and sediment by biotic reactions mediated by sulfur-reducing bacteria, and abiotic reactions mediated by sunlight photolysis, resulting in conversion into organic mercury such as methylmercury (MeHg). MeHg can be bioaccumulated through the food web in the ecosystem, finally exposing humans who consume fish. For a better understanding of how humans are exposed to mercury in the environment, this review paper summarizes the mechanisms of emission, fate and transport, speciation chemistry, bioaccumulation, levels of contamination in environmental media, and finally exposure assessment of humans.