Cultural Uses of Mercury in New Jersey – Year 2 Mercury Vapor in Residential Buildings – Comparison of Communities That Use Mercury for Cultural Purposes with a Reference Community: Research Project Summary
Date
2007-09
Date Removed
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Publisher
Trenton, N.J. : New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, Division of Science, Research and Technology
Abstract
The first year of this study compared levels of mercury (Hg) vapor in hallways and common areas of apartment buildings in West New York, New Jersey and Union City, New Jersey to outdoor levels (Garetano et al. 2006). These two
communities were chosen based on the prevalence of botanicas that sold Hg for cultural uses (e.g., Santeria and
related practices). The results from the first year’s study suggested that levels of mercury in apartment buildings in
these areas were significantly elevated above outdoor levels. However, these results could not distinguish between
intentional cultural use and unintentional spills from household mercury-containing devices such as thermometers. In
the second year of this study, the researchers increased the number of buildings sampled in West New York and Union
City (the study communities), and compared the Hg vapor levels in these buildings to levels in a reference community
with comparable housing stock, but no evidence of cultural use of Hg. There was no difference between the outdoor
Hg levels in the study communities versus the reference community (2.9 vs. 2.3 ng/m3; p=0.20). However, compared
with the reference community, public spaces in buildings in the study communities had significantly higher mean Hg
levels (9.8 vs. 5.0 ng/m3; p=0.03) and higher average maximum values (13.3 vs. 6.4 ng/m3; p=0.01). Comparison of
levels in the reference community to outdoor levels suggests an elevated background of indoor Hg vapor possibly from
a history of unintentional Hg spills. However, the significantly increased levels above this background that were
observed in the study communities strongly suggest (but do not prove) the prevalence of intentional cultural use of Hg.
These findings call attention to the potential for significant exposure in areas with likely cultural use of Hg.
Description
Keywords
New Jersey