20.500.12556/DiRROS-27499 Human biomonitoring in support of the Minamata Convention a case of phasing out dental amalgam This study analysed urinary mercury (U-Hg) concentrations in 1412 Slovenian children across four human biomonitoring campaigns conducted between 2007 and 2024. Median U-Hg levels declined from 0.76 ng mL−1 (0.72 µg g−1 creatinine) in the 2007 PHIME cohort to 0.22 ng mL−1 (0.21 µg g−1 creatinine) in the 2018–2024 SLO-HBM-II cohort, paralleling a decrease in the prevalence (from 65 to 3%) and the average number of dental amalgam fillings in children. Multilevel mixed-effects models showed a consistent temporal decline in U-Hg that persisted after adjustment for demographic and environmental covariates. In contrast, the inclusion of the amalgam number substantially attenuated the time trend, indicating that reduced amalgam use likely contributed to the observed decrease. As amalgam prevalence fell, other sources of exposure, such as fish consumption, became relatively more prominent predictors of U-Hg, while children living in historically Hg-contaminated areas showed persistently higher levels. Although Slovenia had already phased down dental amalgam in children before ratifying the Minamata Convention, these long-term biomonitoring data illustrate how changes in exposure sources are reflected in internal Hg levels. The study demonstrates the value of repeated national HBM programmes for identifying dominant exposure pathways, investigating their evolution over time, and providing evidence relevant to effectiveness-evaluation frameworks under Article 22 of the Minamata Convention. concentrations in blood koncentracija v krvi true false true Springer Nature Švica Angleški jezik Slovenski jezik © The Author(s) 2026. Neznano 2026-02-10 10:59:28 2026-02-10 10:59:28 2026-02-11 04:01:08 0000-00-00 00:00:00 2026 0 0 Nasl. z nasl. zaslona; Opis vira z dne 21. 1. 2026; Vol. , [article no.] 2026 0000-00-00 Zaloznikova Objavljeno apc 2025-10-05 2025-12-21 2026-01-05 504.5 1476-069X 10.1186/s12940-025-01255-7 265262595 https://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s12940-025-01255-7 1 325a278b-0667-11f1-88c7-001a4af901a5 https://dirros.openscience.si/Dokument.php?lang=slv&id=40258 RAZ_Usenik_Vanja_2026.pdf RAZ_Usenik_Vanja_2026.pdf 1 0339D8DD955EDE6003F5F8A191C5FC53 39b390f5ee3bb31eb22b6b54830d1bb6c429ef84f069f4e5838930fa2a90ec30 130c4ae0-0668-11f1-88c7-001a4af901a5 https://dirros.openscience.si/Dokument.php?lang=slv&id=40259 Institut Jožef Stefan 0 0 0