Significant elevation of human methylmercury exposure induced by the food trade in Beijing, a developing megacity
Methylmercury (MeHg) poses health risks to humans worldwide. The investigation of a longer chain of biogeochemical MeHg transport from production to consumption than that addressed in previous studies could provide additional scientific foundation for the reduction of risks. The main objective of th...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Elsevier
2020-02-01
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| Series: | Environment International |
| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0160412019335883 |
| _version_ | 1818067370833346560 |
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| author | Maodian Liu Menghan Cheng Qianru Zhang Gunnar Hansen Yipeng He Chenghao Yu Huiming Lin Haoran Zhang Xuejun Wang |
| author_facet | Maodian Liu Menghan Cheng Qianru Zhang Gunnar Hansen Yipeng He Chenghao Yu Huiming Lin Haoran Zhang Xuejun Wang |
| author_sort | Maodian Liu |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Methylmercury (MeHg) poses health risks to humans worldwide. The investigation of a longer chain of biogeochemical MeHg transport from production to consumption than that addressed in previous studies could provide additional scientific foundation for the reduction of risks. The main objective of this study is to identify the impacts of the interregional food trade along with the age, gender and socioeconomic status of people on human MeHg exposure in a developing megacity. Based on a field investigation, sampling and measurements, we provide experimental evidence regarding the substantial displacement of human MeHg exposure from production areas to consumption areas induced by the food trade. In 2018, 20% and 64% of the exposure in Beijing originated from the international and interprovincial food trade, respectively. Meanwhile, the ingestion of fish contributed 79% to the total exposure, followed by rice (4.4%), crab (3.8%) and shrimp (2.7%), and the exposure risk in urban districts was higher than that in rural areas by a factor of 2.2. A significantly higher contribution of imported deep-sea species to exposure among young people than among older people was observed (P < 0.01**), and a larger contribution of the international food trade to the MeHg exposure risk for women of childbearing age (average: 27%) than that among other groups (average: 10%) was found. Overall, our efforts demonstrate the dramatic impact of the food trade on MeHg exposure in a developing megacity, and we suggest that MeHg-susceptible populations in China should choose indigenous fish species (e.g., hairtail, yellow croaker and carp species) rather than imported deep-sea species as their dietary protein source. Keywords: Methylmercury exposure, International food trade, Interprovincial food trade, Indigenous fish species, Deep-sea fish species, Children and young women |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-10T15:22:37Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-87a6a9e015204d449dc316c93922f94d |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 0160-4120 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-10T15:22:37Z |
| publishDate | 2020-02-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Environment International |
| spelling | doaj.art-87a6a9e015204d449dc316c93922f94d2022-12-22T01:43:39ZengElsevierEnvironment International0160-41202020-02-01135Significant elevation of human methylmercury exposure induced by the food trade in Beijing, a developing megacityMaodian Liu0Menghan Cheng1Qianru Zhang2Gunnar Hansen3Yipeng He4Chenghao Yu5Huiming Lin6Haoran Zhang7Xuejun Wang8Ministry of Education Laboratory of Earth Surface Process, College of Urban and Environmental Sciences, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China; School of Forestry and Environmental Studies, Yale University, New Haven, CT 06511, USAMinistry of Education Laboratory of Earth Surface Process, College of Urban and Environmental Sciences, Peking University, Beijing 100871, ChinaMinistry of Education Laboratory of Earth Surface Process, College of Urban and Environmental Sciences, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China; School of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA 30332, USADepartment of Marine Sciences, University of Connecticut, 1080 Shennecossett Road, Groton, CT 06340, USADepartment of Marine Sciences, University of Connecticut, 1080 Shennecossett Road, Groton, CT 06340, USAMinistry of Education Laboratory of Earth Surface Process, College of Urban and Environmental Sciences, Peking University, Beijing 100871, ChinaMinistry of Education Laboratory of Earth Surface Process, College of Urban and Environmental Sciences, Peking University, Beijing 100871, ChinaMinistry of Education Laboratory of Earth Surface Process, College of Urban and Environmental Sciences, Peking University, Beijing 100871, ChinaMinistry of Education Laboratory of Earth Surface Process, College of Urban and Environmental Sciences, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China; Corresponding author at: Ministry of Education Laboratory of Earth Surface Processes, College of Urban and Environmental Sciences, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China.Methylmercury (MeHg) poses health risks to humans worldwide. The investigation of a longer chain of biogeochemical MeHg transport from production to consumption than that addressed in previous studies could provide additional scientific foundation for the reduction of risks. The main objective of this study is to identify the impacts of the interregional food trade along with the age, gender and socioeconomic status of people on human MeHg exposure in a developing megacity. Based on a field investigation, sampling and measurements, we provide experimental evidence regarding the substantial displacement of human MeHg exposure from production areas to consumption areas induced by the food trade. In 2018, 20% and 64% of the exposure in Beijing originated from the international and interprovincial food trade, respectively. Meanwhile, the ingestion of fish contributed 79% to the total exposure, followed by rice (4.4%), crab (3.8%) and shrimp (2.7%), and the exposure risk in urban districts was higher than that in rural areas by a factor of 2.2. A significantly higher contribution of imported deep-sea species to exposure among young people than among older people was observed (P < 0.01**), and a larger contribution of the international food trade to the MeHg exposure risk for women of childbearing age (average: 27%) than that among other groups (average: 10%) was found. Overall, our efforts demonstrate the dramatic impact of the food trade on MeHg exposure in a developing megacity, and we suggest that MeHg-susceptible populations in China should choose indigenous fish species (e.g., hairtail, yellow croaker and carp species) rather than imported deep-sea species as their dietary protein source. Keywords: Methylmercury exposure, International food trade, Interprovincial food trade, Indigenous fish species, Deep-sea fish species, Children and young womenhttp://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0160412019335883 |
| spellingShingle | Maodian Liu Menghan Cheng Qianru Zhang Gunnar Hansen Yipeng He Chenghao Yu Huiming Lin Haoran Zhang Xuejun Wang Significant elevation of human methylmercury exposure induced by the food trade in Beijing, a developing megacity Environment International |
| title | Significant elevation of human methylmercury exposure induced by the food trade in Beijing, a developing megacity |
| title_full | Significant elevation of human methylmercury exposure induced by the food trade in Beijing, a developing megacity |
| title_fullStr | Significant elevation of human methylmercury exposure induced by the food trade in Beijing, a developing megacity |
| title_full_unstemmed | Significant elevation of human methylmercury exposure induced by the food trade in Beijing, a developing megacity |
| title_short | Significant elevation of human methylmercury exposure induced by the food trade in Beijing, a developing megacity |
| title_sort | significant elevation of human methylmercury exposure induced by the food trade in beijing a developing megacity |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0160412019335883 |
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