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Dangers
Of Mercury
Mercury
is the second most toxic element on earth to plutonium. Toxicity
of mercury has been linked to many different diseases, including
autism,
learning disabilities, Alzheimer’s, multiple sclerosis,
 fibromyalgia,
lupus, chronic fatigue syndrome, arthritis, depression, and
bipolar disorder. The amount of mercury found in one mercury
thermometer is enough to pollute a small lake.
Health
effects of mercury toxicity have been a concern because of
the potential for it to act as a poison. Toxic doses of mercury
can cause developmental effects in the fetus, as well as affecting
the kidney and the nervous system in children
and adults. Mercury exists in a number of different chemical
forms, each one consisting of different levels of toxicity.
The forms of mercury can also be converted from one to another
in the environment and in the body, so symptoms caused by
mercury poisoning depends on the precise chemical forms involved.
Mercury
can be toxic when inhaled, eaten, or when placed on the skin.
Low concentrations of mercury may appear to have no effect
but signs of toxicity can develop later or become more noticeable
with continued exposure. When toxicity in humans takes place
loss of feeling or a burning sensation in arms and legs, psychological
effects, loss of memory, loss of vision, loss of hearing,
paralysis, congenital malformations, kidney toxicity, and
death may occur. Prenatal toxicity can result in a child with
normal appearance at birth but who later exhibits a developmental
delay in the ability to walk and/or talk. Because of the long
latent period for observable effects, the need for treatment
may be recognized too late.
Health
effects vary according to the amount of mercury exposure is
taken into the body. The health risks of mercury at low levels
of exposure remain uncertain, but this continues to be a highly
debatable topic with ongoing scientific investigation. Fetuses,
infants and small children appear to be particularly sensitive
to mercury because their brains are still developing. Vaccines
with mercury have been considered to contribute to autism,
learning disabilities, Alzheimer’s Disease, and other
neurological conditions, and an FDA review conducted in 1998
determined that, at the time, children who received the full
complement of childhood vaccines were potentially exposed
to levels of mercury that were sometimes 30 to 50 times the
acceptable levels established by the EPA.
High-level
exposures to mercury can cause serious effects
or even be lethal. Several historical examples of epidemic
mercury poisonings in other parts of the world provide classic
examples of investigative epidemiology and toxicology and
serve to highlight the reasons why regulators are concerned
about mercury. Effects on the brain and nervous system are
frequently seen with high-level exposures to mercury and can
be quite severe.
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