Mercury Impregnation Study of the Population Living Around the SNCPA in Kasserine

This study is carried out to describe the exposure and the impregnation of the population, living in the surrounding of the national society of cellulose and alfa paper (SNCPA) in Kasserine, to mercury. A simple random sampling of households was used to ensure the representativeness of the participants. 421 individuals participated in the study and total Hg levels were quantified in hair samples by inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) and urine by cold vapor atomic absorption (CVAAS). In hair, the median Hg (Hg-hair) concentration was 0.25 ppm with an interquartile interval of [0.14–0.45] ppm and 4.6% of individuals exceeded the baseline value of USEPA of 1 ppm. In multivariate analysis, mean Hg-hair was significantly higher in consumers of fresh tuna and non-smokers. In urine, the median Hg (Hg-U) concentration was < 1 µg/L with extremes reaching 65 µg/L, a P95 at 35 µg/L and 16.1% of individuals exceeded the reference value of 7 µg/L from the German Biomonitoring Commission, of which 8.5% exceeded the reference value of 25 µg/L. The Hg-hair measured in individuals corresponds to the impregnation of a population with a low frequency of fish consumption (< 1 time/week) and could make it possible to establish reference values for the Hg in the hair. The Hg-Urin shows that the participants are probably exposed to high concentrations of Hg, a priori in its inorganic form linked to industrial activities. People with Hg-U > 7 μg/L should benefit from monitoring values and research on the source of Hg exposure and those with Hg-U > 25 μg/L should be investigated.