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ELEMENTal Focus on MercuryHightlight on Mercury...Exposure to mercury occurs from breathing contaminated air, ingesting contaminated water and food, and having dental and medical treatments. Mercury, at high levels, may damage the brain, kidneys, and developing fetus. This chemical has been found in at least 714 of 1,467 National Priorities List sites identified by the Environmental Protection Agency. What is mercury?Mercury is a naturally occurring metal which has several forms. The metallic mercury is a shiny, silver-white, odorless liquid. If heated, it is a colorless, odorless gas. Mercury combines with other elements, such as chlorine, sulfur, or oxygen, to form inorganic mercury compounds or "salts," which are usually white powders or crystals. Mercury also combines with carbon to make organic mercury compounds. The most common one, methylmercury, is produced mainly by small organisms in the water and soil. More mercury in the environment can increase the levels of methylmercury that these small organisms make. Metallic mercury is used to produce chlorine gas and caustic soda and also used in thermometers, dental fillings, and batteries. Mercury salts are used in skin-lightening creams and as antiseptic creams and ointments. What happens to mercury when it enters the environment?
How might I be exposed to mercury?
How can mercury affect my health?The nervous system is very sensitive to all forms of mercury. Methylmercury and metal vapors are more harmful than other forms, because more mercury in these forms reaches the brain. Exposure to high levels of metallic, inorganic, or organic mercury can permanently damage the brain, kidneys, and developing fetus. Effects on brain functioning may result in irritability, shyness, tremors, changes in vision or hearing, and memory problems. Short-term exposure to high levels of metallic mercury vapors may cause effects including lung damage, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, increases in blood pressure or heart rate, skin rashes, and eye irritation. How can mercury affect children?Very young children are more sensitive to mercury than adults. Mercury in the mother's body passes to the fetus and can pass to a nursing infant through breast milk. However, the benefits of breast feeding may be greater than the possible adverse effects of mercury in breast milk. Mercury's harmful effects that may be passed from the mother to the developing fetus include brain damage, mental retardation, and incoordination, blindness, seizures, and an inability to speak. Children poisoned by mercury may develop problems of their nervous and digestive systems and kidney damage. How can families reduce the risk of exposure to mercury?Carefully handle and dispose of products that contain mercury, such as thermometers or fluorescent light bulbs. Do not vacuum up spilled mercury, because it will vaporize and increase exposure. If a large amount of mercury has been spilled, contact your health department. Teach children not to play with shiny, silver liquids. Properly dispose of older medicines that contain mercury. Keep all mercury-containing medicines away from children. Pregnant women and children should keep away from rooms where liquid mercury has been used. Learn about wildlife and fish advisories in your area from your public health or natural resources department. (See WaterNews article below.) Has the federal government made recommendations to protect human health?The EPA has set a limit of 2 parts of mercury per billion parts of drinking water (2 ppb). The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has set a maximum permissible level of 1 part of methylmercury in a million parts of seafood (1 ppm). The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has set limits of 0.1 milligram of organic mercury per cubic meter of workplace air (0.1 mg/m³) and 0.05 mg/m³ of metallic mercury vapor for 8-hour shifts and 40-hour work weeks. Where can I get more information on Mercury?The Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) can tell you where to find occupational and environmental health clinics. Specialists in these clinics can recognize, evaluate, and treat illnesses resulting from exposure to hazardous substances. You can also contact your community or state health or environmental quality department if you have any more questions or concerns.Source of Information : Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR). 1999. Toxicological profile for mercury. Atlanta, GA: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Public Health Service. For more info, contact:
Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry Division of Toxicology
For more information on mercury, visit: The Menace of Mercury ThermometersWhat do the cities Ann Arbor, Michigan; Duluth, Minnesota; and San Francisco, California, have in common?
Does one broken fever thermometer pose a serious health threat? Not if the spill is cleaned up properly, reports Health Care Without Harm, an organization dedicated to eliminating pollution in health care practices. To clean up spilled mercury on a hard surface, wear gloves and use stiff paper to push the beads together. Or, collect the beads with an eye dropper, place them in a widemouthed jar, and seal tight. For a carpet spill, the contaminated section should be cut out and removed. Don't vacuum because the heat will evaporate the mercury. And don't toss any mercury in the garbage. Garbage is either landfilled or incinerated, and the mercury will eventually make its way back into the environment. Take the thermometer to a household hazardous-waste collection site. Or better yet, remove your thermometer while it's still in one piece and replace it with a digital model. The City of Chico Household Hazardous Waste Collection Facility (HHWCF)- A/C Industrial Services takes mercury thermometers. They are located at 1101 Marauder St. Chico 95973 Phone: (530) 343-5488 Open Fridays & Saturdays from 9:00 a.m.- 1:00 p.m. Other products containing mercury must be disposed of at a hazardous waste facility. These products include
WaterNews for January 12, 2001WaterNews is a weekly on-line publication that announces publications, policies, and activities of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Office of Water. Inside WaterNews from January 12, 2001: FDA and EPA Issue Advisories on FishThe Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued advice to pregnant women and others on the hazards of consuming commercially available fish that may be contaminated with mercury. EPA, in conjunction with the FDA's announcement, issued advice concerning fish from non-commercial sources - freshwater fish both caught and directly eaten by subsistence and recreational fishers. EPA is recommending that women who are pregnant or may become pregnant, nursing mothers and young children, limit consumption of such fish to one meal per week (six ounces of cooked fish per adult; two ounces of cooked fish per child). Additional information on FDA's advisory is available at www.fda.gov. Additional information on EPA's advisory as well as a listing of state and local contacts on fish safety is available at www.epa.gov/ost/fish. From the Spring 2001 issue of the Environmental News. |
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The three cities recently banned the sale of mercury thermometers for health and environmental reasons. Exposure to mercury in the air and water can cause paralysis and insomnia, and delay development in small children. It also contributes to pollution. One gram of mercury- the amount found in most fever thermometers- can contaminate all of the fish in a 20-acre lake.