CONTENT OF MERCURY IN HAIR OF THE POPULATION OF THE GEOCHEMICAL PROVINCE

Abstract

Introduction. A large number of gold and pyrite deposits are located on the territory of the Trans-Ural zone of the Republic of Bashkortostan (RB). A characteristic concomitant component of ores of deposits of this kind is mercury. For the extraction of gold by amalgamation, metallic mercury was also used, which accumulated in the tailings and dumps of the runner gold recovery plants and came from them into the environment. Material and methods. To study the age and sex characteristics of the content of mercury in the hair of the inhabitants of the area. In the period from 2013 to 2018. an analytical transverse uncontrolled study was conducted, in which 279 clinically healthy residents of the Trans-Ural zone of the RB. A sampling of hair was carried out according to standard WHO methodology from the back of the head. Chemical-analytical studies of samples were carried out in the licensed laboratory of the Center for Biotic Medicine (Moscow) by mass spectrometry with inductively coupled argon plasma. Statistical analysis was performed using Statistica 6.0, with p <0.05, the differences were assessed as statistically significant. Results. The distribution of mercury in the hair of the examined individuals (102 men and 177 women) differed from the normal. The median (Me) content of mercury in the hair of the studied individuals was 0.072 µg / g for men and 0.122 µg / g for women, which does not exceed the indices for the Republic of Bashkortostan (0.58 and 0.47 µg / g for men and women, respectively). 1.4% of children, 2.3% of adolescents and 13.2% of adult residents had an increased risk of health. Conclusion. As a result of the study, elevated concentrations of mercury were found in the hair of a number of residents of the Trans-Ural zone of Bashkortostan, which requires greater control over the level of heavy metals in the air, soil, water, food and measures to reduce the risk to public health.