The Direct Determination of Mercury in Sweat

Excretion of trace metals in perspiration, or sweat, can be of importance in the balance of elements in the human body. The loss of essential trace elements through perspiration can be a factor in nutrition studies and excretion of toxic metals plays a role in toxicity studies. It has been suggested1 that such excretion is a means of removing non-essential components from the body. Iodine, bromine, silver, mercury and other pharmacological substances administered can be discharged in this manner.2 In 1928, Lomholt3 found small amounts of mercury in the perspiration of patients injected with mercuric ion as a treatment for syphilis. The secretion by the sweat glands is far greater than the secretion of most other larger glands; for example, typical sweat glands weighing a total of 40 g secrete 3–10 kg of fluid/day compared to typical saliva glands, which weigh 70 g and secrete 1.5 kg saliva/day.2 Since a portion of human perspiration is insensible and does not involve the sweat glands,2 loss of trace substances in sweat is possibly more significant than generally believed. Little research has been published on the concentration of metals in human perspiration.