Effects of elemental mercury exposure at a thermometer plant

This study compares 84 mercury‐exposed workers at a thermometer manufacturing facility with 79 unexposed workers for evidence of chronic mercury toxicity. Personal breathing‐zone air concentrations of mercury ranged from 25.6 to 270.6 μg/m3 for thermometer workers. Urinary mercury levels in the study population ranged from 1.3 to 344.5 μg/g creatinine, with eight (10%) participants exceeding 150 μg/g creatinine and three workers exceeding 300 μg/g creatinine, which indicates increased absorption of mercury among the thermometer workers. All urine mercury levels in the comparison group were compatible with normal background levels in unexposed adults (