What Are Health Effects of Mercury?

The Georgia EPD classifies mercury as a persistent bioaccumulative toxic chemical (PBT). This means that organisms (including humans) take up mercury more quickly than they can get rid of it. So the mercury builds up in their bodies over time. If you don’t ingest mercury for a while, the levels of mercury will slowly decline. HOWEVER, if you continually ingest mercury, the amount in your body increases over time.  

Examples of health problems caused by mercury include:

· Birth defects (including learning and developmental disorders)
· Deterioration of the nervous system
· Hearing, speech, and vision impairment
· Involuntary muscle movements
· Corrosion of skin and mucous membranes
· Difficulty chewing and swallowing
· Damage to the kidneys and digestive system

Mercury levels in women of child bearing years are of particular concern. Exposure to a mother’s high mercury levels is associated with lowered IQ levels and other developmental disorders. A recent US Environmental Protection Agency study found that over 300,000 children in the US are born each year that may face neurological and developmental disorders as a result of being exposed to mercury while in their mother’s womb.

The video below is from researchers at the University of Calgary. The video details how mercury causes neurological damage.

Sources:
Corrigan, Zachary. 2004. Fishing for Trouble: How Toxic Mercury Contaminates Fish in US Waterways. US PIRG.
Morel, F.M.M., et al. 1998. The Chemical Cycle and Bioaccumulation of Mercury. Annu. Rev. Ecol. Syst. 29: 543-66.
USGS. Mercury Contamination of Aquatic Ecosystems. Fact Sheet FS-216-95.
Pratt, Sarah. 2004. Fish Advisories on the Rise. Geotimes.



Last updated on January 30, 2010 by Ogeechee Riverkeeper