* A scoping review of sources of mercury and its health effects among Pakistan's most vulnerable population.
- Mercury and methyl mercury are poisonous to human body. In the recent times, exposure to mercury has been anthropogenic in nature. Within the past several decades, many incidences of mercury poisoning have been documented in several countries including Pakistan. Mercury has been ingested where it has been used to preserve crops, through the point and non-point source discharge into the surface water, and consequently entering the food chain. We conducted this scoping review of mercury and its health effects in Pakistan in order to raise the flag to a silent ongoing Minamata disease in the country. We conducted a systematic search of the available literature in Google Scholar, PubMed, and grey literature of unpublished theses and reports of various universities across the country. We found that in the northern Pakistan, suspended sediments were the major pathway of the riverine mercury transport. Sediments of Hunza and Gilgit River were found high in mercury concentrations. Gold mining leads to an increase in mercury concentration in soil and river waters flowing in this region. High concentrations up to 108 ng/L were found in Shimsal River. It is suspected that that high level of mercury transport may be leading to accumulation of mercury in major water bodies and lakes downstream. Occupational exposure to mercury and other heavy metals is common in an unregulated private sector of the country. Goldsmiths burn the amalgamated gold without personal protective measures. Direct exposure to the fumes of mercury leads to respiratory, dermatological, systemic and neurological ailments specific to mercury poisoning. We found good evidence of bioaccumulation of mercury in fish and fish products in Pakistan. The untreated waste water discharge is responsible to not only afflicted the fish but also the birds which feed on this fish. Further, the same untreated waste water from factories and agriculture runoffs affect vegetables grown in it. Studies looking at the biomarkers for mercury in humans have shown increased and even toxic levels of mercury among the most vulnerable populations of the country. Other sources of mercury exposure included mercury in traditional medicines and cigarette products. Though no evidence was found for its presence in drinking water, its existence in the food chain and occupational exposure pose great threat to the humans as well as animals.
=>1.さらにずっと, さらに先に, 一層遠く, その上, 更に, もっと遠い, なお一層の, さらに遠く,
もっと先に, いっそうはるかに, さらにまた, さらになお(furthermore), 2.進める, 助成する, 促進する
Overview of verb further
The verb further has 2 senses (first 2 from tagged texts)
1. (7) foster, further -- (promote the growth of; "Foster our children's well-being and education")
2. (2) promote, advance, boost, further, encourage -- (contribute to the progress or growth of; "I
am promoting the use of computers in the classroom")
Overview of adj further
The adj further has 1 sense (first 1 from tagged texts)
1. (2) further, farther -- (more distant in especially degree; "nothing could be further from the
truth"; "further from our expectations"; "farther from the truth"; "farther from our expectations")
Overview of adv further
The adv further has 3 senses (first 3 from tagged texts)
1. (33) further, farther -- (to or at a greater extent or degree or a more advanced stage (`further'
is used more often than `farther' in this abstract sense); "further complicated by uncertainty about
the future"; "let's not discuss it further"; "nothing could be further from the truth"; "they are
further along in their research than we expected"; "the application of the law was extended
farther"; "he is going no farther in his studies")
2. (10) further -- (in addition or furthermore; "if we further suppose"; "stated further that he
would not cooperate with them"; "they are definitely coming; further, they should be here already")
3. (1) farther, further -- (to or at a greater distance in time or space (`farther' is used more
frequently than `further' in this physical sense); "farther north"; "moved farther away"; "farther
down the corridor"; "the practice may go back still farther to the Druids"; "went only three miles
further"; "further in the future")
Overview of adv far
The adv far has 5 senses (first 4 from tagged texts)
1. (61) far -- (to a considerable degree; very much; "a far far better thing that I do"; "felt far
worse than yesterday"; "eyes far too close together")
2. (39) far -- (at or to or from a great distance in space; "he traveled far"; "strayed far from
home"; "sat far away from each other")
3. (22) far -- (at or to a certain point or degree; "I can only go so far before I have to give up";
"how far can we get with this kind of argument?")
4. (3) far -- (remote in time; "if we could see far into the future"; "all that happened far in the
past")
5. far -- (to an advanced stage or point; "a young man who will go very far")
--- WordNet end ---