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Smelt (Osmerus mordax) were netted from Cayuga Lake in Central New York State and analyzed for mercury concentration. There was no statistical significance (p > 0.05) when attempting to correlate mercury concentration with fish length or weight for either sex. Factors affecting methylation, demethylation and absorption of mercury are discussed.

Yellow perch (Perca flavescens) and pumpkin seed (Lepomis gibbosus) were sampled from 16 waters in New York-State and analyzed for total mercury concentration. The levels of mercury in the fish were all well below the safe guideline for human consumption (1 ppm of mercury, fresh weight) of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Factors affecting the mobility, methylation and absorption of mercury by fish are discussed.

Lake trout (Salvelinus namaycush) of known age from 1 to 12 years were taken from Cayuga Lake in central New York State in 1991 and p,p'-DDE and mercury were determined in their flesh. The concentrations of p,p'-DDE and mercury increased significantly (p less than 0.001) with increasing age of the fish. The concentration of p,p'-DDE also increased significantly (p less than 0.001) with increasing fat content. The concentrations of p,p'-DDE were much lower than those found in Cayuga Lake trout of similar age captured in 1978.

Dentists may be exposed to mercury used in dental restorations. An epidemiologic study was conducted in central New York in 1985 comparing the concentration of mercury in the hair of 85 dentists to that of 23 dental-related health professionals (mainly orthodontists and oral surgeons) who do not use mercury. Mercury in the hair of dentists was nominally higher (2.98 +/- 0.57 ppm, mean +/- SE) than that of the control group (1.84 +/- 0.20 ppm) but not significantly so. There was a significant positive linear trend in the concentration of mercury in the dentists' hair with the number of years they had been in practice. Those dentists who wore masks when removing old mercury containing fillings showed significantly (p = 0.03) lower mercury concentrations in hair (1.7 +/- 0.26 ppm, mean +/- SE) than those who did not (3.65 +/- 0.85 ppm). Mercury concentration in the hair of 23 of the above dentists analyzed in 1972 was 16.77 +/- 4.00 ppm (mean +/- SE), significantly higher (p = 0.008) than that of the same dentists in 1985 (5.27 +/- 1.85 ppm). The reduction is believed due to the currently used pre-prepared disposable or reusable capsules containing the amalgam versus formerly mixing the ingredients manually. This may also account for the lack of a significant difference in mercury in the hair of the dentists versus that of the control group in 1985. The statistical relationships between mercury concentrations in hair of the two groups and reported health effects, as well as other factors including fish consumption, number of restorations per day, office floor covering, and urban or rural domicile, are discussed.

Six vegetables and millet were grown on the site of an old orchard which had received heavy applications of lead arsenate and organic mercury fungicides for many years. Carrots and millet absorbed about 7 ppm (dry weight) of lead, the other crops containing smaller concentrations. Concentrations of arsenic and mercury showed only modest increases in crops grown on the orchard soil as compared to controls. Lead concentrations in kidney, liver, and bone tissue of meadow voles trapped in two old orchards were markedly higher (up to 300 ppm in bone) than control animals (up to 33 ppm). Intranuclear inclusion bodies diagnostic of lead poisoning were found in the renal epithelial cells of the proximal convoluted tubules in voles from lead arsenate treated orchards.

Six kittens, three males and three females, were fed exclusively for one hundred days a commercially canned red meat tuna found to contain elevated concentrations of Mercury (Hg) and Selenium (Se). A similarly sized control group was fed for the same period a dry commercial cat food comparatively low in the concentration of these elements. At the end of the feeding trial, concentrations of Hg Se were markedly higher in blood, bone, brain, kidney, liver, muscle and spleen of the kittens fed the tuna diet as compared to the corresponding controls. No behavioral abnormalities or pathological lesions were detected in any of the kittens.

The eggs produced by developing Japanese quail (Coturnix coturnix japonica) fed 1 to 8 parts of mercury per million as mercuric chloride for 10 weeks have thinned shells. Total amounts of mercury in tissues were quite proportional to the dosage and were higher in males than in females. Methylation of mercury was not observed.

An analysis of the concentrations of total mercury and methylmercuric salts in lake trout of precisely known ages from 1 to 12 years has been carried out. The concentrations of both total mercury and methylmercury increased with the age of the fish. The proportion of methylmercury to total mercury also increased with age.