revised final - Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry ...

MERCURY 110
Hematological Effects
2. HEALTH EFFECTS
Inorganic Mercury. Information is limited regarding hematological effects in humans after ingestion of
inorganic mercury. The only information located regarding hematological effects in humans was the report
of anemia that developed (probably secondary to massive gastrointestinal hemorrhaging) in a 35-year-old
man who ingested a lethal amount of mercuric chloride (Murphy et al. 1979). Bone marrow activity in the
afflicted man was normal, but thrombocytopenia was also observed.
Groups of 10 female Sprague-Dawley rats were administered a single gavage dose of mercuric chloride at
7.4 or 9.2 mg Hg/kg in water and necropsied at 14 days postexposure. Blood samples were analyzed for
hemoglobin concentration, hematocrit value, erythrocyte counts, total and differential leukocyte counts, and
platelet counts. Serum was analyzed for sodium, potassium, inorganic phosphorus, total bilirubin, alkaline
phosphatase, aspartate aminotransferase (AST), total protein, calcium, cholesterol, glucose, uric acid, and
lactate dehydrogenase (LDH). There were no effects on body weight, and weights of other organs were not
affected. Significant decreases in hemoglobin, erythrocytes, and hematocrit were also reported. There was
a significant decrease in serum protein and calcium in the low-dose mercury group only. Mercury was
found mainly in the kidneys (12.6 and 18.9 ppm at the low and high dose, respectively), but trace amounts
were also detected in the liver, brain, and serum (Lecavalier et al. 1994).
No other studies were located regarding hematological effects in animals after oral exposure to inorganic
mercury.
Organic Mercury. No studies were located regarding hematological effects in humans after oral exposure
to organic mercury.
Rats that received phenylmercuric acetate in their drinking water for 2 years showed decreases in
hemoglobin, hematocrit, and red blood cell counts at a dose of 4.2 mg Hg/kg/day (Solecki et al. 1991). The
anemia observed in this study may have been secondary to blood loss associated with the ulcerative lesions
in the large intestine seen at this dose (see Gastrointestinal Effects above). No treatment-related changes
were observed in hematological parameters measured in rats (strain not specified) exposed via the diet for
2 years to 0.1 mg Hg/kg/day as methylmercuric chloride (Verschuuren et al. 1976).