Methylmercury Measurements in Dried Blood Spots from Electronic Waste Workers Sampled from Agbogbloshie, Ghana

Abstract

Biomonitoring methylmercury (MeHg) exposure is problematic in resource‐limited settings and with difficult‐to‐ access populations where traditional biomarker approaches present logistical, economic, and ethical issues. The present study aimed to validate the use of dried blood spots (DBS) to assess MeHg exposure in a real‐world contaminated field setting. Whole‐blood and DBS samples were collected from electronic waste workers (n = 20) from Agbogbloshie (Ghana) in 2017, and DBS were also artificially created in the laboratory using the field‐collected blood. Whole‐blood MeHg concen trations averaged 0.84 µg/L, which was not different from levels measured in the corresponding DBS samples (field‐collected or artificially created). Whole‐blood MeHg comprised 61% of the blood total Hg concentrations. Linear regression analysis revealed no differences in MeHg concentrations between whole‐blood samples and field‐collected DBS (slope 0.89, R2 = 0.94) and between field and laboratory DBS (slope 0.89, R2 = 0.96). The MeHg content in DBS punch blanks averaged 0.86 pg and thus was not of concern. These findings indicate that DBS are a suitable tool for assessing MeHg exposure in real‐world environmental settings that may be heavily contaminated.