A wide range of species, including marine mammals, seabirds, birds of prey, fish and bivalves, were investigated for potential population health risks resulting from contemporary (post 2000) mercury (Hg) exposure, using novel risk thresholds based on literature and de novo contamination data. The main geographic focus is on the Baltic Sea, while data from the same species in adjacent waters, such as the Greater North Sea and North Atlantic, were included for comparative purposes. For marine mammals, 23% of the groups, each composing individuals of a specific sex and maturity from the same species in a specific study region, showed Hg-concentrations within the High Risk Category (HRC) and Severe Risk Category (SRC). The corresponding percentages for seabirds, fish and bivalves were 2.7%, 25% and 8.0%, respectively, although fish and bivalves were not represented in the SRC. Juveniles from all species showed to be at no or low risk. In comparison to the same species in the adjacent waters, i.e. the Greater North Sea and the North Atlantic, the estimated risk for Baltic populations is not considerably higher. These findings suggest that over the past few decades the Baltic Sea has improved considerably with respect to presenting Hg exposure to its local species, while it does still carry a legacy of elevated Hg levels resulting from high neighbouring industrial and agricultural activity and slow water turnover regime.

使用基于文献和从头开始的新风险阈值，调查了当代（2000年后）汞（Hg）暴露所造成的潜在人群健康风险，调查了包括海洋哺乳动物，海鸟，猛禽，鱼类和双壳类动物在内的各种物种。污染数据。主要的地理重点是波罗的海，而出于比较目的，则包括来自相邻水域（例如大北海和北大西洋）相同物种的数据。对于海洋哺乳动物，23％的组分别来自特定研究区域中相同物种的特定性别和成熟度的个体，其汞浓度在高风险类别（HRC）和严重风险类别（SRC）之内。海鸟，鱼类和双壳类动物的相应百分比分别为2.7％，25％和8.0％，尽管鱼类和双壳类动物不在SRC中。来自所有物种的未成年人都没有或处于低风险。与相邻水域（即大北海和北大西洋）中的同一物种相比，波罗的海种群的估计风险并不高得多。