Question

I have always enjoyed eating tuna fish. Unfortunately,a study of the mercury content of canned tuna in 2010 foundthat chunk white tuna contains 0.6 ppm Hg and chunk lighttuna contains 0.14 ppm. (S. L. Gerstenberger, A. Martinson,and J. L. Kramer, Environ. Toxicol. Chem. 2010, 29, 237.) TheU.S. Environmental Protection Agency recommends no morethan 0.1 mg Hg/kg body weight per day. I weigh 68 kg. Howoften may I eat a can containing 6 ounces (1 lb 5 16 oz) ofchunk white tuna so that I do not average more than 0.1 mgHg/kg body weight per day? If I switch to chunk light tuna,how often may I eat one can?

Answer 1

You can eat one chunk white tuna of 6 oz every 21,5 minutes

And, you can eat one chunk linght tuna of 6 oz every 5 minutes

Step-by-step explanation:

The exposure to mercury may cause serious health problems, and is a threat to the development of the child in utero and early in life.

If you weight 68 kg you can eat:

68 kg * 0,1mgHg/ kg = 6,8 mg Hg per day

• Chunk white tuna contains 0,6 mg Hg/kg

Thus, you can eat:

6,8 mg Hg * 1 kg tuna/ 0,6 mg Hg = 11,33 kg of chunk white tuna per day

In ounces:

11,33 kg * 35,274oz/ 1 kg = 400 oz per day

You can eat 66,7 6 ounces of chunk white tuna per day. One every 21,5 minutes

• Chunk light tuna contains 0,14 mg Hg/kg

Thus, you can eat:

6,8 mg Hg * 1 kg tuna/ 0,14 mg Hg = 48,57 kg of chunk white tuna per day

In ounces:

48,57 kg * 35,274oz/ 1 kg = 1713 oz per day

You can eat 285,6 6 ounces of chunk white tuna per day. One every 5 minutes

I hope it helps!