ANALYSIS OF MERCURY IN URINE PERFORMED AT CESTEH´S

(CESTEH) has been studying the impact of mercury on human health in great diversity of circumstances, varying from industrial and/or extractive uses to accidents. Several situations were attended such as those observed in chlorine production and electric appliances industries, odontology, research laboratories, surgical and domestic accidents. In all cases biological and environmental samples were collected, analyzed and clinical examinations were conducted on the exposed people. The concentration of mercury was determined using a Zeeman 5100 AAS (Perkin Elmer) equipped with a MHS-20 for the cold vapor technique, and clinical trials were conducted at CESTEH ambulatories. From 1992 to 1998, around 400 workers from a chlorine plant were evaluated. Approximately 50 % of them showed levels of urinary mercury higher than reference values found in general population and 10 % higher than Brazilian legal requirements for occupational purposes. Clinical examinations revealed 19 cases of hydrargirism and 26 suspect (for the first time in the State of Rio de Janeiro, cases of hydrargirisms were confirmed). Analyses of 100 samples collected from Alta Floresta’s workers confirmed high contamination of them. Other cases, where the contamination source was not always clear, were studied. Among those cases, a domestic accident occurred in