Abstract
INTRODUCTION: All compounds of mercury are toxic especially methylmercury. Exposure to elemental mercury can cause serious adverse effects to the gastrointestinal, nervous and genitourinary system. The aim of this study is to determine the source, the aftermath and control measures of heavy metal exposure in the community. METHODS: This is a retrospective descriptive case series encompassing epidemiological, environmental and laboratory investigations performed in May 2016 using interviewer-guided questionnaires on 83 subjects. RESULTS: Elemental mercury was discovered by three neighbours (index case) in an abandoned water-meter room surrounded by palm oil plantation located in Seberang Perai Utara district. The mercury was brought to a few houses in the neighbourhood and school hence, exposing 19 villagers, 61 students and staff. The most prevalent symptoms were cough (40.9%), nausea (31.8%) and dyspnoea (31.8%). Majority (60.2%) of those exposed were treated as inpatients, 24.1% as outpatients and the remaining were asymptomatic. Out of 70 patients, 8.6% tested positive for mercury in urine whereas 1.4% tested positive for mercury in blood. Chelation therapy was not indicated as the mercury positivity levels were insignificant. Decontamination procedures were carried out by Hazardous Materials Squad (HAZMAT) at all locations where elemental mercury was found. DISCUSSION: All individuals exposed to elemental mercury were diagnosed and treated. Epidemiological, environmental and laboratory investigations were conducted, and control measures were carried out. Public awareness on health risk posed by mercury exposure is still low hence health education and promotion together with strict enforcement should be implemented.
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@proceedings{APCPH-2019-35,
title = {Are-MER: A Rare Event of Mercury Exposure in Penang},
author = {Chua Su Peng and Mohamad Azfar Zainuddin and Mohd Ridzuan Janudin and Rafidah Md. Noor},
year = {2019},
date = {2019-07-22},
urldate = {2019-07-22},
journal = {6th Asia-Pacific Conference on Public Health 2019 Proceedings},
issue = {6},
abstract = {INTRODUCTION: All compounds of mercury are toxic especially methylmercury. Exposure to elemental mercury can cause serious adverse effects to the gastrointestinal, nervous and genitourinary system. The aim of this study is to determine the source, the aftermath and control measures of heavy metal exposure in the community. METHODS: This is a retrospective descriptive case series encompassing epidemiological, environmental and laboratory investigations performed in May 2016 using interviewer-guided questionnaires on 83 subjects. RESULTS: Elemental mercury was discovered by three neighbours (index case) in an abandoned water-meter room surrounded by palm oil plantation located in Seberang Perai Utara district. The mercury was brought to a few houses in the neighbourhood and school hence, exposing 19 villagers, 61 students and staff. The most prevalent symptoms were cough (40.9%), nausea (31.8%) and dyspnoea (31.8%). Majority (60.2%) of those exposed were treated as inpatients, 24.1% as outpatients and the remaining were asymptomatic. Out of 70 patients, 8.6% tested positive for mercury in urine whereas 1.4% tested positive for mercury in blood. Chelation therapy was not indicated as the mercury positivity levels were insignificant. Decontamination procedures were carried out by Hazardous Materials Squad (HAZMAT) at all locations where elemental mercury was found. DISCUSSION: All individuals exposed to elemental mercury were diagnosed and treated. Epidemiological, environmental and laboratory investigations were conducted, and control measures were carried out. Public awareness on health risk posed by mercury exposure is still low hence health education and promotion together with strict enforcement should be implemented.},
note = {Type: ORAL PRESENTATION; Organisation: Unit Inspektorat, Pejabat Kesihatan Daerah Timur Laut, Unit Kesihatan Pekerjaan dan Alam Sekitar, Jabatan Kesihatan Negeri Pulau Pinang, Unit Kesihatan Keluarga, Jabatan Kesihatan Negeri Pulau Pinang},
keywords = {apcph2019, exposure, Mercury, poisoning},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {proceedings}
}