4.2. Exposure of grazing animals to inorganic and organic mercury in soils
and feed
The estimated DI of THg as calculated by Eq. (1) (Fig. 5A) varied
widely between 0.45 and 170 mg d−1 (median: 5.2 mg d−1) for
cows and between 0.073 and 33 mg d−1 (median: 0.85 mg d−1)
for sheep. This wide range reflects the large range in soil and feed
levels of THg observed in this study. The DI in 33 sampling sites
exceeded the acceptable daily intake (ADI) of THg of both cows
(ADI = 1.4 mg d−1) and sheep (ADI=0.28 mg d−1) in view of
food safety associated with THg in animal kidneys (de Vries et al.,
2007)