Why Is Methylmercury Wrong

If mercury biomagnifies, in which of the organisms would you expect to find the highest mercury levels in a lake with mercury contamination?

Mercury is another toxic pollutant that may be found in the tailings and in the surface and ground water supplies of the Silver Bow Creek area. While mercury is

There are three different chemical forms that mercury exists in and each has a specific effect on human health, however for the purpose of this paper only two will be talked about. The first is elemental mercury (Hg), which also called metallic mercury. In this form the primary health effect is when it is breathes as vapor where it can be absorbed through the lungs. Symptoms of this kind include tremors, emotional changes, insomnia, neuromuscular changes, headaches, disturbances in sensations, changes in nerve responses, and performance deficits on tests of cognitive functions. At higher doses there can be kidney effects, respiratory failure, and even death. In this form it is emitted into the air from coal-fired power plants, waste incinerators, smelting plants, which is by far the leading man-made source of mercury in the Great Lakes. It is released into the air and transported by air currents and will eventually fall and be deposited in soil or water. This is particularly important to the people living in Michigan because in Detroit the mercury found in rain has been

Karen Nelson, Neuroepidemiology Branch, National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke; and Margaret Bauman, Children’s Neurology Service, Harvard Medical School conducted a study on neuropathology of mercury toxicity. Nelson and Bauman asserted ethylmercury lacks the active transport mechanism across the blood-brain barrier that other found available to methylmercury however; they provided no evidence to support this assertion. The L system is the major transport

For instance, certain seafoods are known to have high concentrations of mercury. The same can be found inside of certain dental fillings, such as silver fillings or mercury amalgrams.

As already stated, many other locations around the world are affected by mercury poisoning and contamination. For example, Canada and Japan have an extensive history of mercury poisoning, including neurologic symptoms and contaminated fish. These studies have has been documented since the 1950’s in these locations. In fact, the contamination became so problematic the Ontario health department formed a task force on organic mercury in 1972. Further, recent protesting throughout Toronto has asked for Canada to address the contamination of mercury. Findings revealed levels of mercury exceeding those of international standards and included the highest recorded mercury contamination among in the western part of the world. (CITE 6)

Another claim anti-vaxxers make is that vaccines contain mercury which is toxic to humans (Ross, np). Thimerosal, which was in multi-dose vaccines to prevent bacteria growth, did in fact contain traces of mercury (Ross, np) (CDC, np). However, there are two types of mercury: methylmercury and ethylmercury (CDC, np). Methylmercury, which is found in some kinds of fish, is toxic to humans in high doses, while ethylmercury is cleaned out of the body rapidly and is less likely to cause any harm, especially at low doses (CDC, np). Thimerosal contained a very low dose of ethylmercury, and studies showed it would not be toxic to humans, aside from some minor side effects such as redness or swelling after injection (CDC, np). Even so, the FDA decided to remove thimerosal from vaccines back in 2001 (Ross, np).

In an article from The Washington Post on the 26th of January, 2009: “Mercury is toxic in all its forms. Given how much high fructose corn syrup is consumed by children, it could be a significant additional source of mercury never before considered. We are calling for immediate changes by industry and the [U.S. Food and Drug Administration] to help stop this avoidable mercury contamination of the food supply,” the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy’s Dr. David Wallinga, a co-author of both studies, said in a prepared statement.

-Mercury is a persistent substance which means a number of mercury increases in concentration as you go the in the food chain, so the higher up the chain and the higher amount of mercury. This tendency is called biomagnification. For instance, plankton contains 0.00001 ppm of mercury and if you go up 5 levels to the top of the pyramid which is a shark, it contains 1 ppm of mercury. This may pose a potential health threat to those animals and humans who consume the fishes or shark.

The health hazards for humans who come in contact with contaminants from exposure to polluted water can have long term effects on the body causing possible organ failure and death. Contaminants and chemicals such lead and mercury can bring about many minor illnesses ranging from nausea, lung irritation, skin rash, vomiting, and dizziness, to the major diseases that include cancer, liver and kidney damage, disorders of the nervous system, damage to the immune system, birth defects and even death.

Mercury can be used in many different products such as barometers, florescent lamps, and electrical switches and can be in the fish that we eat, whether the fish was caught in a local lake or bought from the grocery store. Mercury is a naturally occurring element in the earth’s crust that can be moved around from volcanoes, coal burning plants, mining, and other natural or human actions. “Mercury is well-documented as a toxic chemical that is atmospherically transported on a local, regional, and global scale by cycling among air, land, and water” (U.S. EPA, 2009). As early as the 1950’s we found that exposure to mercury can be extremely toxic, even deadly to animals and people. Throughout this report I will describe the basic

Treatment of mercury toxicity depends on the form of mercury the individual is exposed to. When treating for any toxicity most times is hard to determine the length of time the person was exposed or how much of the toxin the person was exposed to etc, as a result of the gap between vital information the treatment of mercury toxicity is approached using what is called the ABCs method. The ABCs method employs supportive care of the airway, breathe, and circulation. This method is especially use when one is exposed by inhalation of mercury. Patients who are exposed to mercury through the skin, the irrigation method are use. For ingestion of inorganic mercury, the patient has to be kept hydrated; the patient stomach can be pumped, medically called

The article describes briefly how the mercury ends up in the fish we eat, how the rain grabs the mercury from the atmosphere and deposits it into the lakes and oceans. Because of the food chain, the largest of the aquatic animals will have the highest amount of mercury, whales and sharks for example. So, communities high in whale and shark consumption will show the greatest risk of mercury poisoning.

The CTBC claims that e-waste accounts for approximately 40 percent of these three toxins that end up landfills, noting that "just 1/70th of a teaspoon of mercury can contaminate 20 acres of a lake, making the fish unfit to eat."

One of the most commonly dumped chemicals into Indonesia’s waters is mercury. Indonesia is one of the world’s largest producers of mercury (Price 2014), which is a natural element that helps to separate gold ore from other less valuable particles in the mining industry. The mining industry frequently dumps this highly dangerous chemical into rivers and waterways which often affects the lives of people who are around the contaminated water. Apart from people, marine life is affected as well. With excessive dumping of hazardous waste into rivers and streams, marine life is often poisoned and is struggling to survive. These poisoned fish are then eaten and over time can have adverse effects. Although several initiatives have been put in place, none are doing what they are supposed to do. The first step Indonesia should take to help ease the pain on local waters is to put restrictions on how businesses can discharge their waste. If this is enforced, it would benefit not only the people of Indonesia, but marine life as well. The second step they should take is to educate and show how water pollution is affecting people. This will by no means stop pollution, but helping people understand the consequences of their actions will certainly help. The final step is to make access to piped and cleansed water a priority. Piped and cleansed water would help prevent people from washing, bathing, and drinking out of filthy waters, which would further