Hair mercury concentrations in residents of Sundarban and Calcutta, India.

Few studies on hair mercury have been conducted in India despite the fact that India is the world's third largest producer of coal and coal is India's primary energy source. No studies have been conducted in the Indian state of West Bengal which has a coastline with the Bay of Bengal. This study examined the concentration of mercury in hair in two diverse populations in West Bengal, India: Sundarban, a mangrove wetland where fishing is a common occupation, and Calcutta, a megacity and India's oldest functioning port.

Extended followup of a cohort of chromium production workers.

Background: The current study evaluates the mortality of 2,354 workers first employed at a Baltimore chromate production plant between 1950 and 1974.

Methods: The National Death Index (NDI Plus) was used to determine vital status and cause of death. Cumulative chromium (VI) exposure and nasal and skin irritation were evaluated as risk factors for lung cancer mortality.

Mercury exposure and health impacts among individuals in the artisanal and small-scale gold mining community: a comprehensive review.

Background: Mercury (Hg) is used in gold mining to extract gold from ore by forming "amalgam"-a mixture composed of approximately equal parts mercury and gold. Approximately 15 million people, including approximately 3 million women and children, participate in artisanal small-scale gold mining (ASGM) in developing countries. Thirty-seven percent of global air emissions of Hg are produced by ASGM.