Arsenic, Cadmium, Lead, and Mercury in Sweat: A Systematic Review

Table 4

Studies of mercury excretion in sweat.

Study	Country, participants	Study design and intervention	Key findings (concentrations μg/L unless otherwise indicated)
Genuis et al., 2010 [3]	Canada; 10 with chronic conditions; 10 healthy	Sweating induced by exercise or sauna, collected directly into bottle	16 participants had mercury detected in all samples; Blood plasma mercury mean 0.61 (range 0.26–1.6) (); Urine mean 0.65 (range 0.32–1.3) (); Sweat mean 0.86 (range 0.48–1.5) ()
Robinson and Skelly, 1983 [39]	USA; 21 males at university; 7 sampled more than once	Mercury in sweat dripping from forehead or nose, compared with urine	Sweat mean 0.5 (range 0.1–1.4)
Sunderman 1978 [40]	USA; 1 case with mercury intoxication	Case report of chelating agents to treat mercury intoxication, followed by a regimen of daily sweat and physiotherapy for a protracted period of several months	Appreciable quantities of mercury were excreted in sweat.; With the sweating regimen mercury, levels in sweat decreased to within the normal range
Lovejoy et al., 1973 [41]	USA; 3 mercury-exposed workers; 3 nonexposed workers; 1 control	Participants wore rubber chest waders from 7 : 30 to 9 : 00 am; Sweat accumulated in the feet was collected, as well as a 16-hour urine sample	Exposed workers: 1.5 h sweat: 120–350 ng mercury; 16 h urine: 160–190 ng mercury; Unexposed workers: 1.5 h sweat: 5–8 ng mercury  16 h urine: 5–7 ng mercury; Internal controls: 1.5 h sweat: 43–70 ng mercury; 16 h urine: 30–46 ng mercury; Mercury concentrations in sweat > urine for exposed workers; similar for controls