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

MERCURY 313
2. HEALTH EFFECTS
workers exposed to the same air concentration may vary; therefore, researchers should report urine
mercury levels together with estimated exposure concentrations to address the issue of variance between
individuals.
Studies assessing mercury vapor exposure have suggested various ratios relating the concentration of
mercury in the air (in µg/m 3 ) to the levels of mercury in the urine (in µg/L). Such estimates include 1:1
(Bell et al. 1973), 1:1.22 (Roels et al. 1987), and 1:2.5 (Lindstedt et al. 1979; Rosenman et al. 1986).
Urinary metallic mercury levels ranging from 0.05 to 1.7 µg/L were detected in the urine of workers
exposed to mercury vapor (>0.1 mg/m 3 ); this elemental mercury represented