A human health risk assessment of mercury species in soil and food around compact fluorescent lamp factories in Zhejiang Province, PR China.

Abstract This study investigated total mercury (THg) and methylmercury (MeHg) contamination in a major production center of compact fluorescent lamps (CFLs) located in Gaohong, Zhejiang Province, China. This was a result of the growing concern associated with the release of mercury into the environment from such components. The results of the study included the following mean concentrations for THg and MeHg of 157 ± 11 (61–518) ng/g dw and 0.28 ± 0.07 (0.07–0.67) ng/g dw in agricultural soil, respectively, and 18.6 ± 6.5 (3.2–47.8) ng/g ww and 0.11 ± 0.03 (0.02–0.37) ng/g ww in vegetable samples, respectively. A significant correlation was observed between THg in vegetables and corresponding soil samples ( r  = 0.64, p