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The pills that Tibetans ingest contain toxic metal that endangers their health and the environment.
Agencia SINC • 20/07/2018
Many people visualize the Tibetan plateau, sometimes called "the Tibetan plateau ceiling". as a virgin mountain environment, barely affected by pollution, but a team of scientists from China and the United States has shown that Tibetan traditional medicine (TTM) exposes people and the environment to High Levels of Mercury and Methylmercury.The study is published in the journal Environmental Science & Technology
"Tibetans ingest mercury through pills, made from a complex mixture of ointments. herbs and minerals that contribute to this effect and to other heavy metals. therapeutic, "says lead author, Xuejun Wang, a researcher at Peking University
Used by Tibetans for over 1000 years, TTM is a complex mixture of herbs and minerals under the shape of a pill. Pharmacists often add minerals to TTM that may contain mercury and other heavy metals in the belief that they have therapeutic effects.
The high concentrations of total mercury provided by Tibetan traditional medicine, used for more than 1000 years, but until now, no one had badyzed the amount of methylmercury, one of the forms the most toxic of the element. Wang and his colleagues focused on the entire life cycle of mercury and methylmercury, from ingestion to release in the environment.
Researchers began by measuring their concentrations in seven common forms of TMD. With this information, they estimated that Tibetans consume up to 34 times more total mercury per day than people in China's regions with mercury mines and between 200 and 3,000 times more than in Japan. , in Norway and the United States.
As regards methylmercury, its consumption is also higher in Tibet than in other parts of the world, except in Japan, where large quantities of marine fish are eaten, another important source of this compound.
Mercury and Methylmercury in Wastewater Treatment Plants
Data also reveal that in 2015, Tibetans excreted approximately 862 kg of mercury in municipal wastewater treatment plants, releasing approximately 3 583 kg directly into the environment, according to the researchers.
For its part, only about 0.09 kg of methylmercury reached municipal wastewater. However, their current levels could be much higher because bacteria in wastewater convert inorganic mercury into this more toxic form.
"There is no limit of mercury ingestion in Chinese laws and regulations," Wang explains. , "But an environmental limit in our country's municipal wastewater: 1 μg / L;" The authors of the study make three recommendations: "Learn more about the bioavailability of mercury in pills and drugs, establish limits for mercury used in the treatment of wastewater. "
drugs and look for alternatives for not having to incorporate mercury."
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