High risk of mercury poisoning in10pc of hong kong students

High risk of mercury poisoning in 10% of Hong Kong high school students.

24th October, 2002

CHINA:

HONG KONG - As many as 10 percent of high school students in Hong Kong may be at risk of mercury poisoning because of their high consumption of fish such as tuna and swordfish, a government survey has found.

Predatory fish such as shark, tuna and swordfish tend to contain higher concentrations of mercury and consumers are advised not to consume excessive amounts of these products, according to the government report obtained yesterday.

The 2001/2002 study found 10 percent of 903 students surveyed had dietary habits which gave them a mercury exposure of 6.41 micrograms per kilogram of body weight a week. The study did not specify how much fish those students with a high mercury exposure level ate.

The level exceeds the 5 microgram safety limit set by the World Health Organisation's Expert Committee on Food Additives.

Mercury is toxic and can affect the human nervous system.

The report follows a string of other studies in the region trying to wean diners off favourite delicacies such as shark's fin soup, which has also been found to contain high levels of mercury.

A recent scientific study in Hong Kong found people with high mercury levels in their blood had frequently consumed deep sea fish such as tuna and shark's fin.

It also showed excessive levels of mercury can lead to male and female infertility. Men with high mercury levels were found to have abnormal sperm which swam backwards or sideways instead of forwards.

Growing affluence in many places in Asia have brought items such as shark's fin, once a luxury only few could afford, and fresh tuna within the budgets of many, and even young children consume them frequently.

The Hong Kong government said it may conduct a population wide food consumption survey to study the dietary exposure of the territory's 6.8 million residents.