Mercury exposure of children living in Amazonian villages: influence of geographical location where they lived during prenatal and postnatal development.

Introduction: In some Amazonian river basins, hair mercury concentration is above the recommended levels. We evaluated the influence of birth geographical location in the hair mercury level of Amazonian riverine children.

Materials And Methods: Hair mercury concentration was measured in 219 children living in four Amazonian riverine communities: Tapajós River (São Luiz do Tapajós and Barreiras villages, n = 110), Tocantins River (Limoeiro do Ajurú village, n = 61), and Caeté River (Caratateua village, n = 48).