mercury and climate change
DESCRIPTION
For augmented reality project.TRANSCRIPT
Mercury & climate change
Kriya DunlapUniversity of Alaska Fairbanks
what do you know about mercury?
mercury in the environment …
biomagnification and bioaccumulation
the risks of mercury exposure
Mercury has a strong affinity for
sulfhydryl groups (Thiol)
– S-H
H 3C-H
g+
19th Century
Felters
1950’s plastic factory in Minimata Bay
Mercury levels in salmon-fed sled dogs; the potential risks and benefits of subsistence diets
• low incidence of age and nutritional diseases
• 4.8 kg subsistence foods per week
• 60% of subsistence foods is finfish
Village sled dogs
wild Alaskan SALMON
the benefits…
astaxanthin
Eicosapentaenoic acid (20:5ω-3)
Docosahexaenoic acid (22:ω-3)
Phospholipid membrane
Phospholipase A2
Cyclooxygenases (COX)
Prostaglandins (PG)
&
Thromboxanes (TX)
Lipoxygenases (LOX)
Leukotrienes
O
HO
O
HOArachidonic acid Eicosapentaenoic acid
-less biologically active
-poor substrate for cyclooxygenases
-gives rise to series 5 leukotrienes
What is the mercury exposure in salmon-fed sled dogs at different location
along the Yukon River?
What are the health implications?
Why the Yukon River?
Russian Mission
Rampart
Fort Yukon
SalchaGalena
Russian MissionRyan Housler
Rampart
Linda Johnson
Galena Paddy Nolner
Josh Cadzow
Sci Total Environ. 2007 Oct 15;385(1-3):80-5
Why? Life Cycle…
Yukon River Salmon
Health Implications of wild AK salmon?
•WHO Upper Allowable Threshold of 50 ppm (50,000 ng/g)
•EPA suggests a maximum consumption of 226 g of fish per week for a 70 kg person•Reported adverse effects as low as 300 ng/g•Russian Mission sled dogs have some of the highest reported mercury concentrations of any Alaskan mammal
Future direction…
Special Thank you to…
Arleigh ReynoldsJoee Reddington Jr.Paddy NolnerLinda Johnson
Josh CadzowScott CampbellNestlé PurinaINBRE