Faroe Islands

Shotyk W, Goodsite ME, Roos-Barraclough F, Givelet N, Le Roux G, Weiss D, Cheburkin AK, Knudsen K, Heinemeier J, van Der Knaap WO, Norton SA, Lohse C. 2005. Accumulation rates and predominant atmospheric sources of natural and anthropogenic Hg and Pb on the Faroe Islands. Geochim Cosmochim Acta 69 1-17. 

Pilot whale, Globicephala melas Faroe Islands 1986 ... 

Hair Faroe Islands number of fish meals per week ... 

Schintu, M., F. Jean-Caurant, and J.C. Amiard. 1992. Qrganomercury determination in biological reference materials application to a study on mercury speciation in marine mammals off the Faroe Islands. Ecotoxicol. Environ. Safety 24 95-101. 

Weihe, P., P. Grandjean, F. Debes, and R. White. 1996. Health implications for Faroe Islanders of heavy metals and PCBs from pilot whales. Sci. Total Environ. 186 141-148. 

Several recent epidemiological studies have involved examination of populations that consume unusually high levels of fish. One of these, conducted in the islands of the Seychelles, has not so far revealed behavioral and learning impairments in children whose mothers exhibited mercury levels (measured in hair) higher than those typically seen in the United States and European countries. But another study, conducted in the Faroe Islands, turned up evidence of cognitive and behavioral impairments in children. Scientists have struggled to understand why two well-done studies have produced such different outcomes, and some possible reasons have been suggested. The EPA and public health officials have acted on the basis of the Faroe data, out of both caution and also because they seem to be supported by other, more limited data, and by experimental studies. The debate is not so much about whether methylmercury is a developmental toxicant, but rather over the dose required. 

Two of the epidemiologic studies used in EPA s risk assessment—those conducted in the Faroe Islands and New Zealand (Kjellstrom et al. 1986 Kjellstrom et al. 1989 Grandjean et al. 1997)—documented a significant inverse biomarker-neurodevelopment relationship.2 Effects included poor performance on a number of tests—tests of attention, fine-motor function, language, visual-spatial abilities, and verbal memory. The magnitude of the deficits was consistent with increases in the number of children struggling to keep up in school or requiring remedial action (Rice et al. 2003). Those effects correlated with hair mercury in both studies cord blood showed the... 

The second prospective study of in utero exposure to methylmercury was initiated in the Republic of Seychelles and enrolled about 800 mother-infant pairs (Myers et al., 1995). In contrast to the Faroe Islands study, the investigation in the Seychelles did not find evidence of methylmercury-related adverse effects on the neuro-behavioural development of children through nine years of age (Myers et al., 2003). In some instances, prenatal mercury exposure was actually associated with precocious behaviour, and important developmental milestones were reached more quickly in the most highly exposed subjects. 

Japan South China Korea Indonesia Australia Malaysia Vietnam Cambodia Philippines India Spain Netherlands Germany Poland Russia Finland Sweden United Kingdom Faroe Islands USA USA Canada... 

Human milk has been widely studied in relation to BFRs, particularly the BDEs. Figure 2.3 summarises data worldwide in order to demonstrate overall trends. As can be seen, it is generally the case that the highest concentrations are observed in the USA and Canada, intermediate concentrations in the UK and the Faroe Islands, and lower concentrations in the rest of Europe and the Far East. Australia does stand out as higher than expected on this trend basis. 

Eangstrom, B., Strid, A., Athanassiadis, I., Grandjean, R, Weihe, R, Bergman, A. (2004) A retrospective time trend study of PBDEs and PCBs in human milk from the Faroe Islands. Organohal. Cpds, 66 2829-2832. 

Bossi, R., Riget, F. F., Dietz, R., Sonne, C., Fauser, P., Dam, M., et al. Preliminary screening of perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) and other fluorochemicals in fish, birds and marine mammals from Greenland and the Faroe Island. Environ. Pollut., 136 323-329 (2005). 

Pilot whale Faroe Islands 435-1850 lw, tetra 265-940 lw, penta 140-370 lw.hexa [106]... 

Studies from New Zealand and the Faroe Island indicate that adverse effects in children can be correlated with maternal hair levels as low as 10-20 pg/g [44]. Mercury analyses conducted on a single human hair can be used to monitor daily variations in methyl mercury exposure among fish eaters [45,46], and have been utilized to track maternal fish consumption and risk of preterm delivery [47]. Other investigators [48] have utilized measurements of total mercury in hair, toenails and urine to assess exposures in a group of non-occupationally exposed women in relation to renal tubular effects. 

Other countries with mercury-related exposure issues include Iraq, Ghana, the Seychelles, and the Faroe Islands - the exposures and effects of which have been extensively studied. 

The concerns aroused by methylmercury in fish, arising from the susceptibility of the developing brain to this neurotoxicant, led to the design and execution of two large prospective studies. One was located in the Seychelle islands, which lie in the Indian Ocean. The other was located in the Faroe Islands, which lie in the North Sea. Both communities consume large quantities of seafood. In the Seychelles, it is almost exclusively in the form of fish. In the Faroes, virtually all the methylmercury comes from the consumption of pilot whales, which are also contaminated with polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs). Both studies assayed maternal exposures to methylmercury. In the Seychelles, maternal hair was used as the index it reflects the history of blood levels. The Faroes study relied primarily on cord blood. 

The diet in the two studies was also considerably different. The majority of the mercury exposure to the Faroe Island population came from whale meat (estimated at about 3 ppm in muscle tissue) with a relatively small portion coming from fish. Some of the mercury in whale meat is in the form of inorganic mercury. In the Seychelles study, all of the mercury came from fish as methylmercury with concentrations of around 0.3 ppm. Whale meat blubber is widely consumed in the Faroe Islands and also contains polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs). Grandjean et al. (1995b) estimated a daily intake of 200 g of PCB. This value can be compared to the Tolerable Daily Intake of PCBs established by the FDA of 60-70 g/day for an adult. Further statistical analysis of the possible influence of PCBs on the observed study results needs to be conducted (see the discussion below on Peer Panel IReview of Kev Studies for additional comments). 

On November 18-20, 1998, a workshop on Scientific Issues Relevant to the Assessment of Health Effects from Exposure to Methylmercury was conducted in Raleigh, North Carolina. The workshop was jointly sponsored by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS), the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP), the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), and ATSDR. The purpose of this workshop was to discuss and evaluate the major epidemiologic studies that associated methylmercury exposure and the results of an array of developmental measures in children. These studies monitored and evaluated exposed populations in Iraq, the Seychelles Islands, the Faroe Islands, and the Amazon River Basin. A number of animal studies were also considered in support of a human health risk assessment. 

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