In 2001, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency derived a reference dose (RfD) for methylmercury, which is a daily intake that is likely to be without appreciable risk of deleterious effects during a lifetime. This derivation used a series of benchmark dose (BMD) analyses provided by a National Research Council (NRC) panel convened to assess the health effects of methylmercury. Analyses were ...

This document outlines a strategy for integrated mercury investigations linked to restoration and adaptive management of the San Francisco Bay and Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta ecosystem (termed the Bay-Delta ecosystem and defined as the combined watershed, Delta, and Bay). Ecosystem restoration and management of the Bay-Delta ecosystem are complicated by mercury contamination from historic mini...

Our present knowledge of the human health effects of methylmercury exposure is derived from study of major outbreaks of human poisonings in Japan and Iraq and experimental studies on primates. Methylmercury readily passes through such physiological barriers as the blood-brain barrier, blood-testes barrier, and the placenta. Its major pathological effects are on the nervous and reproductive syst...

Fish and seafood are recommended diet constituents providing high quality protein, vitamins, minerals and omega-3 fatty acids, mainly eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA). However, these foodstuffs can also be the major source ofmethylmercury intake in humans. In general, more than 90% of the mercury in fish is found as methylmercury, but contents of methylmercury can vary...

Physiologically based pharmacokinetic (PBPK) models are excellent tools to aid in the extrapolation of animal data to humans. When the fate of the chemical is the same among species being compared, animal data can appropriately be considered as a model for human exposure. For methylmercury exposure, sufficient data exist to allow comparison of numerous mammalian species to humans. PBPK model va...

Exposure to toxic mercury (Hg) is a growing health hazard throughout the world today. Recent studies show that mercury exposure may occur in the environment, and increasingly in occupational and domestic settings. Children are particularly vulnerable to Hg intoxication, which may lead to impairment of the developing central nervous system, as well as pulmonary and nephrotic damage. Several sour...

Biomarkers are often applied to assess prenatal exposure to methylmercury in research and surveillance. In a prospective study in the Faroe Islands, the main exposure biomarkers were the mercury concentrations in cord blood and maternal hair obtained at parturition. We have now supplemented these exposure biomarkers with mercury analyses of umbilical cord tissue from 447 births. In particular, ...

Recent studies have established that men are susceptible to cardiotoxicity from methylmercury exposure, which also poses risks to the pregnant woman. Hair samples were obtained and questionnaires for methylmercury exposure assessment were administered to 110 adults (57 men, 53 women) throughout O'ahu, Hawai'i during December 2010 to January 2011. Hair samples were analyzed for total mercury wit...

Urolithiasis appeared in rats maintained to study the effects of nutrients and methylmercury on development and aging. After a year, the mortality rate was approximately 10%, and by 2 years, it had increased to nearly 30%. Clinical signs and urinary tract pathology were examined as a function of diet, duration on diet, gender, methylmercury exposure, genetics, and other potential risk factors b...