They collected 20 samples of common snakehead fish and 20 hair samples from villagers living in tambon Tha Tum, which is near the large industrial complex in Prachin Buri’s Sri Maha Pho district. The site consists of 75 factories in an area of 12 square kilometres.
Penchom explained that human hair was widely accepted as a matrix for reliable estimation of the body burden of methylmercury. The UN Environment Programme’s Global Mercury Assessment, meanwhile, noted that mercury was present in fish all over the globe at a level that adversely affected humans and wildlife, she added.
EARTH’s study found 0.53 milligram of mercury per kilogram in snakehead fish samples, which exceeds the standard set by the Public Health Ministry. Under this standard, the level of mercury in food should not exceed 0.02mg/kg.
The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) stipulates that the level of mercury in food should not exceed 0.22mg/kg.
The study found that the mercury level in the hair samples was 12mg/kg, which exceeds the EPA’s contamination level of 1mg/kg for human hair. Thai authorities have yet to establish a standard for mercury contamination in human hair.