On this page: About the National Data | Methodology | History
About the National Data
Data
Baseline: 1.06 micrograms per liter (µg/L) was the concentration level of mercury in blood samples at which 95 percent of the population aged 1 to 5 years was at or below in 2015-16
Target: 0.80 µg/L
Methodology
Methodology notes
In the general population, the total blood mercury concentration is due mostly to the dietary intake of organic forms, particularly methyl mercury. Urinary mercury consists mostly of inorganic mercury (Cianciola et al., 1997; Kingman et al., 1998). These distinctions can help interpret mercury blood levels in people. Total blood mercury levels increase with greater fish consumption (Dewailly et al., 2001; Grandjean et al., 1995; Mahaffey et al, 2004; Sanzo et al., 2001; Schober et al., 2003). Urine mercury levels increase as more occlusal surfaces of teeth are filled with mercury-containing amalgams (Becker et al., 2003).
Reference: CDC Biomonitoring Summary for Mercury
History
1. Because Healthy People 2030 objectives have a desired direction (e.g., increase or decrease), the confidence level of a one-sided prediction interval can be used as an indication of how likely a target will be to achieve based on the historical data and fitted trend.