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Topic: Methyl mercury


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In the News (Tue 15 Dec 09)

  
  FDA Consumer: Mercury In Fish: Cause for Concern?
Mercury vapor is easily transported in the atmosphere, deposited on land and water, and then, in part, released again to the atmosphere.
Methyl mercury easily crosses the placenta, and the mercury concentration rises to 30 percent higher in fetal red blood cells than in those of the mother.
This is because the methyl mercury levels in these species are all less than 0.2 ppm and few people eat more than the suggested weekly limit of fish (2.2 pounds) for this level of methyl mercury contamination.
www.fda.gov /fdac/reprints/mercury.html   (2156 words)

  
 RAIS: Methyl Mercury (2269-92-6)   (Site not responding. Last check: 2007-10-09)
Methyl mercury is formed by biotic and abiotic methylation of mercury (McComish and Ong, 1985).
Methyl mercury may be metabolized to inorganic mercury by the liver and kidneys, with further transformation occurring to form the divalent cation (ATSDR, 1989).
Methyl mercury is excreted as inorganic mercury, primarily in the feces (Norseth and Clarkson, 1971).
risk.lsd.ornl.gov /tox/profiles/methyl_mercury_f_V1.shtml   (3232 words)

  
 CPCS: Mercury and its Many Forms
Mercury is not well absorbed across the skin so skin contact is not likely to cause mercury poisoning, especially with a brief one-time exposure.
Inorganic mercury compounds are known as "mercuric salts." Some of the mercuric salts include: mercuric chloride, mercuric iodide, mercuric nitrate, mercuric sulfide, yellow mercuric oxide, red mercuric oxide, ammoniated mercury, mercurous chloride and mercurous acetate.
A spill of a large amount of mercury (more than the amount of mercury in a household fever thermometer) can be dangerous to all members of the household including pets because of the mercury vapors in the air of the house.
www.calpoison.org /public/mercury.html   (2187 words)

  
 Mercury   (Site not responding. Last check: 2007-10-09)
Mercury combined with carbon is called organic mercury; methyl mercury is a common example of an organic mercury.
Mercury occurs naturally in the environment, and the levels are increased by certain human activities such as the burning of coal by power plants.
The level of mercury in the mothers who gave birth to affected children after eating mercury-contaminated fish is not certain, but generally, nerve damage was seen in adults with mercury levels in hair of 50 ppm or higher (EHP, Volume 104(8), August 1996).
cerhr.niehs.nih.gov /genpub/topics/mercury.html   (4012 words)

  
 Mercury: The Test
Mercury measurements may be ordered regularly as a monitoring tool for those patients who work in industries that utilize mercury and may be ordered, along with lead and/or other heavy metals, for individuals who work with a variety of potentially hazardous materials.
Normal levels of mercury in blood and urine indicate that it is likely that the patient has not been exposed to excessive levels of mercury, at least not in the window of time that the test is measuring.
Increased levels of mercury in hair testing may indicate exposure to increased levels of methyl mercury but hair samples are rarely used because of issues involving testing standardization and the fact that hair is subject to many pre-analytical variables (hair exposure to dyes, bleach, shampoo, etc.).
www.labtestsonline.org /understanding/analytes/mercury/test.html   (591 words)

  
 Chronic Fatigue Syndrome? or Chronic Mercury Poisoning? - MethylMercury and Microorganisms
Metabolic conversion to free form methyl mercury by humans or mammals cannot be substantiated in the literature.
The fraction of methyl mercury bound was in all cases 100% and was unaffected by the parameters mentioned above.
Furthermore, in the kidneys of the antibiotic treated rats, the proportion of mercury present as organic mercury was greater than in the kidneys of the conventional rats.
www.cfspages.com /mmercmicro.html   (2305 words)

  
 Landfills Make Mercury More Toxic: Science News Online, July 7, 2001   (Site not responding. Last check: 2007-10-09)
Mercury, a nerve poison, is a major ingredient in many products—from thermometers and fluorescent bulbs to batteries and old latex paint.
Although even mercury in its elemental form is toxic, its most poisonous embodiment is methyl mercury, the result of a chemical modification by bacteria (SN: 3/9/91, p.
To limit the rain of mercury from human activities, regulators have focused on curbing emissions of inorganic mercury from coal burning.
www.sciencenews.org /articles/20010707/fob1.asp   (802 words)

  
 Your Home:Mercury   (Site not responding. Last check: 2007-10-09)
Mercury is a naturally occurring metal that is usually in the form of a silvery, heavy, odorless liquid at room temperature.
Mercury may cause many harmful effects on the nervous, digestive and respiratory systems, and the kidneys, and can cause an allergic skin reaction, and is a reproductive hazard.
Mercury vapors are generally more harmful because inhalation may allow more mercury to reach the central nervous system or brain.
www.aerias.org /kview.asp?DocId=121&spaceid=1&subid=6   (936 words)

  
 Persistent Bioaccumulative and Toxic (PBT) Chemical Program - Mercury & Compounds   (Site not responding. Last check: 2007-10-09)
Mercury is a toxic metal and a natural element, commonly seen as a shiny, silver-white, odorless liquid metal.
Mercury is a persistent, bioaccumulative, and toxic (PBT) pollutant.
Methyl mercury is a chemical species that bioaccumulates in fish.
www.epa.gov /opptintr/pbt/mercury.htm   (162 words)

  
 Factors Affecting the Conc. of Mercury in  Fish   (Site not responding. Last check: 2007-10-09)
This mercury is scavenged from surface water and deposited in the lake bottom sediment.
To calculate the magnification of methyl mercury as it moves through the food chain in a lake, it is necessary to know the Bioconcentration Factor (BCF) and the Biomagnification Factor (BMF).
In a typical lake ecosystem, the concentration of methyl mercury will increase by a factor of 3 to 5 as it moves from one level to the next up the food chain.
www.woodrow.org /teachers/esi/2001/Princeton/Project/benoit/factors.htm   (760 words)

  
 NRDC: Mercury Contamination in Fish - Learn About Mercury and Its Effects
Although the metallic mercury in these products rarely poses a direct health hazard, industrial mercury pollution becomes a serious threat when it is released into the air by power plants, certain chemical manufacturers and other industrial facilities, and then settles into oceans and waterways, where it builds up in fish that we eat.
Once mercury enters a waterway, naturally occurring bacteria absorb it and convert it to a form called methyl mercury.
Newer science indicates, however, that mercury actually concentrates in the umbilical cord blood that goes to the fetus, so mercury levels as low as 3.4 micrograms per liter of a mother’s blood are now a concern.
www.nrdc.org /health/effects/mercury/effects.asp   (682 words)

  
 USATODAY.com - Mercury damage 'irreversible'   (Site not responding. Last check: 2007-10-09)
Scientists at the Harvard School of Public Health have found that methyl mercury contamination of seafood can cause heart damage and irreversible impairment to brain function in children, both in the womb and as they grow.
Mercury is known to affect the migration of brain cells in fetuses and might prevent the brain's signal transmission pathways from developing properly.
The mercury is absorbed in polluted water by algae, which is eaten by fish.
www.usatoday.com /news/health/2004-02-08-mercury-usat_x.htm   (604 words)

  
 Methyl mercury half-lives   (Site not responding. Last check: 2007-10-09)
In Model II fecal mercury arises from the methyl mercury compartment and urinary mercury from the inorganic mercury compartment.
Simulations from this model are comparable to those from Model 1 for body total mercury and fecal excretion but are significantly more precise for urinary blood mercury comprises a steadily declining proportion of body mercury burden for at least 91 days after methyl mercury dosing.
These values are comparable to the methyl mercury half-life of 44 days reported by Smith et al.
www.geocities.com /micromercurial/mmpharmacokinetics.html   (211 words)

  
 Mercury - Glossary from Hormel Foods
As mercury is emitted from burned fuels, it is released to the air where it falls onto lakes, rivers, streams, and oceans, beginning a transformation, aided by bacteria, into becoming a toxic substance known as methyl mercury, a harmful neurotoxin.
Consequently, as consumers eat fish the methyl mercury is then absorbed into their organs, which if consumed in large quantities may be damaging to the brain and kidney, especially for developing fetuses of women during their childbearing age.
Varieties of fish that are known for having low levels of methyl mercury are cod, haddock, pollock, salmon, sole, and tilapia.
www.hormel.com /kitchen/glossary.asp?id=36697&catitemid=   (354 words)

  
 Business Assistance: Reducing Mercury in the Environment   (Site not responding. Last check: 2007-10-09)
When mercury is deposited in lakes or waterways, bacteria convert it to methyl mercury.
Methyl mercury accumulates in algae and is eaten by smaller fish, which in turn are eaten by larger fish.
For example, Hennepin County programs to keep mercury out of the waste stream, together with pollution control equipment on the county's waste-to-energy plant, have brought mercury emission levels down from 67 percent of the amount allowed under the plant's Minnesota Pollution Control Agency permit, to under six percent of the permitted amount.
www.moea.state.mn.us /berc/mercury.cfm   (579 words)

  
 Methylmercury (MeHg) (CASRN 22967-92-6), IRIS, Environmental Protection Agency
Hg-methylmercury in fish, approximately 10% of the total mercury body burden was present in 1 L of blood in the first few days after exposure; this amount dropped to approximately 5% over the first 100 days (Miettinen et al., 1971).
The BMD of 11 ppm maternal-hair mercury was converted to an exposure level of 44 µg mercury/L blood using a 250:1 ratio as described in the MSRC (U.S. 1997, pp.
Similarly, the mercury content in the hair of a subgroup of leukemia patients (0.69 +/- 0.75; n=19) was significantly greater than that in healthy relatives who had shared the same residence for at least 3 years preceding the onset of the disease (0.43 +/- 0.24 ppm; n=52).
www.epa.gov /iris/subst/0073.htm   (12001 words)

  
 eMedicine - Toxicity, Mercury : Article by Barry Diner, MD   (Site not responding. Last check: 2007-10-09)
Mercury poisoning is usually misdiagnosed because of the insidious onset, nonspecific signs and symptoms, and lack of knowledge within the medical profession.
Mercury levels in freshwater fish vary, but, in general, bass, pike, muskellunge, and walleye have high levels of mercury and should be eaten in moderation.
Significant oral ingestion of elemental mercury may lead to significant environmental contamination as the mercury is passed, essentially unabsorbed, through the GI tract and expelled in the feces.
www.emedicine.com /emerg/topic813.htm   (4969 words)

  
 Methyl Mercury
The selection of these species was based on historical data on levels of methyl mercury found in fish consumed in the U.S. The selection was also based on an FDA action level of 1.0 ppm in the edible portion of fish.
While FDA has not changed the 1.0 ppm action level, the agency is re-evaluating it in light of significant new data on the health effects of methyl mercury from consumption of fish.
Mercury (methyl) in fish and shellfish: Rapid gas chromatographic method (AOAC, 1995b).
seafood.ucdavis.edu /haccp/compendium/Chapt25.htm   (359 words)

  
 eMedicine - Mercury : Article by David A Olson, MD   (Site not responding. Last check: 2007-10-09)
The mercury was methylated by bacteria and subsequently ingested by fishes and then by humans.
Mercury toxicity is a function of the frequency and intensity of exposure as well as the chemical form of mercury involved.
Metal fume fever occurs in the acute phase of mercury vapor toxicity and is manifested by fatigue, weakness, fever, chills, dizziness, headache, abdominal cramping, dyspnea, dysuria, and ejaculatory pain.
www.emedicine.com /neuro/topic617.htm   (3504 words)

  
 FDA ANNOUNCES ADVISORY ON METHYL MERCURY IN FISH   (Site not responding. Last check: 2007-10-09)
Fish such as shark, swordfish, king mackerel, and tilefish contain high levels of a form of mercury called methyl mercury that may harm an unborn baby's developing nervous system.
These long-lived, larger fish that feed on smaller fish accumulate the highest levels of methyl mercury and therefore pose the greatest risk to the unborn child.
Today, EPA is also issuing advice on possible mercury contamination to women and children eating fish caught by family and friends (non-commercial fish).
www.fda.gov /bbs/topics/ANSWERS/2001/ANS01065.html   (425 words)

  
 [No title]
Mercury vapor and inorganic mercury are well documented to be methylated to methyl mercury in the mouth and intestines by bacteria, yeast, and other methyl donors(21,22,23).
It has been documented that inorganic mercury is methylated to methyl mercury in the mouth and intestines by bacteria, yeast, and other methyl donors(21,22.23).
Government agencies have documented that this is a major factor in mercury in rivers, lakes, fish, as well as crops and rain since soil bacteria methylate the mercury from sludge used for land spreading or in landfills to methyl mercury, which is emitted at high levels.
www.home.earthlink.net /~berniew1/damspr12.html   (1677 words)

  
 Methyl Mercury and PCB Combination Impairs Motor Skills in Young Rats - DERT
Background: Methyl mercury and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) are both contaminants that accumulate in the environment and in the tissues of fish.
Rats exposed to PCBs alone were somewhat impaired and rats exposed to methyl mercury alone were unimpaired as compared to the control animals.
Implication: This study demonstrated that combined treatment with methyl mercury and PCBs produced neurological impairments in the pups of exposed female rats.
www.niehs.nih.gov /dert/profiles/hilites/2004/motor.htm   (323 words)

  
 Nutritional Factors May Modify the Toxic Action of Methyl Mercury in Fish-Eating Populations -- Clarkson and Strain 133 ...   (Site not responding. Last check: 2007-10-09)
mercury as an electrode in the electrolysis of sodium chloride.
FIGURE 1  Hair levels of mercury associated with risk of adverse effects of methyl mercury from adult or prenatal exposures (loaves) as compared to levels in hair found in populations of high fish consumers (fishes).
The risk levels were estimated from studies of an outbreak of poisoning from loaves of homemade bread contaminated with a methyl mercury fungicide.
www.nutrition.org /cgi/content/full/133/5/1539S   (3579 words)

  
 Groups Blast New Mercury Rules
Industrial mercury converts into highly toxic methyl mercury when it enters waterways and is absorbed into plant and animal matter.
People are exposed to mercury by eating animals that live in places where methyl mercury exists, such as streams and lakes.
For example, California power plants would be allowed to increase their mercury output by 841% through 2017, while Utah would be permitted to emit 257% more mercury by weight, according to figures released by the Natural Resources Defense Council.
www.webmd.com /content/article/102/106551?src=RSS_PUBLIC   (412 words)

  
 Our Stolen Future: Study questions low level effects of mercury
Women living on the Seychelles eat ocean-going fish carrying methyl mercury levels comparable to that found in comparable fish in the US (roughly 0.3 A microgram is one-millionth of a gram');" onmouseout="return nd();">µg/g), but the fish consumption rate in the Seychelles is significantly higher.
This is good news if it means that ongoing mercury contamination has not yet been sufficient to force all ocean-going fish, an important source of nutrition, out of diets.
Their mercury effect is most likely real, and independent of simultaneous PCB exposures.
www.ourstolenfuture.org /NewScience/oncompounds/mercury/2003/2003-0515myersetal.htm   (1147 words)

  
 FDA Talk Paper: FDA Announces Foods Advisory Committee to Meet on Methyl Mercury in Seafood   (Site not responding. Last check: 2007-10-09)
At that time, FDA set forth its rationale for this decision in a formal, publicly available document, "Rationale for Issuance of Revised Advisory on Methyl Mercury and Fish Consumption." This document is available on FDA's web site at http://www.cfsan.fda.gov/~acrobat/hgadv4.pdf.
In reaching its conclusions about methyl mercury in fish, FDA met with a broad range of interested parties, including consumer groups, health professionals, industry, and state public health officials.
FDA expects to hold the meeting on methyl mercury in seafood later this spring.
www.cfsan.fda.gov /~lrd/tpmehg.html   (451 words)

  
 Mercury
pathway for a hazardous mercurial metabolite in mice.
the bile and urine and the intestinal reabsorption of mercury compounds
mercury toxicity did not appear to be related to lipid peroxidation.
www.cfsn.com /mercury2.html   (2627 words)

  
 Methyl Mercury in Fish - In The News
Methyl Mercury in Fish - In The News
FDA ANNOUNCES ADVISORY ON The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is announcing its advice to pregnant women and women of childbearing age who may become pregnant on the hazard of consuming certain kinds of fish that may contain high levels of methyl mercury.
All medical advice and information should be considered to be incomplete without a physical exam, which is not possible without a visit to your doctor.
www.keepkidshealthy.com /in_the_news/mercury_fish.html   (533 words)

  
 [No title]
The CDC has since updated the link referred by my article below - it is no longer valid, but their new answer to the question who is most vulnerable to methyl mercury is much more revealing: "Two groups are most vulnerable to methyl mercury: the fetus and pregnant women.
Premature babies are more vulnerable because they tend to be very small and their brain is not as developed as a full term baby").
Two groups are most vulnerable to methyl mercury: the fetus and children ages 14 and younger."
www.mercola.com /2000/dec/10/vaccine_pregnant.htm   (985 words)

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