Dr. Patrick Parsons, Director of the Division of Environmental Health Sciences at the Wadsworth Center, presented recent advances in human mercury biomonitoring at the XXIV Brazilian Congress of Toxicology (CBTOX 2026), held in São Paulo, Brazil, from June 3-6, 2026. The conference, organized around the theme “Toxicology and Trace Elements in Health and Disease,” brought together leading national and international scientists, students, industry professionals, and government representatives to discuss emerging research, regulatory developments, and innovative approaches in toxicology.
Dr. Parsons was an invited speaker in the symposium “Mercury in the Environment and Human Health: New Frontiers in Exposure, Toxicity and Mitigation.” His presentation, “Exposure to Inorganic and Methylmercury among New Yorkers: Recent Advances in Methods for Human Biomonitoring,” highlighted a novel analytical method developed to distinguish inorganic mercury from methylmercury in human blood samples. Coauthors were Dr. Emily Pacer and Dr. Christopher Palmer from the Laboratory of Inorganic and Nuclear Chemistry. This enhanced approach developed by the Wadsworth team provides a more comprehensive understanding of mercury exposure sources and human health risk. Dr. Parsons described how the new method was applied to archived blood specimens collected during the 2004 and 2013 New York City Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NYC HANES). The analyses identified distinct patterns of exposure associated with inorganic mercury from contaminated skin-lightening creams and methylmercury from the consumption of certain fish species. The findings demonstrate how the relative proportions of inorganic mercury and methylmercury in blood vary according to participants’ dietary habits and cultural practices, providing valuable insights into environmental exposures within New York City’s diverse population.
The work illustrates the importance of advanced biomonitoring methods for identifying exposure pathways, informing public health interventions, and guiding strategies to reduce harmful mercury exposures. Dr. Parsons’ presentation highlighted the Wadsworth’s internationally recognized expertise in environmental biomonitoring and toxicology, as well as its ongoing contributions to understanding environmental exposures and protecting public health through innovative laboratory science.