Assessment of human health risks of environmental agents has often been limited to consideration of the potential for the agent to cause cancer or general systemic toxicity after long-term exposure. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (U.S. EPA) is increasingly moving toward the development of integrated assessments, which consider all potential health end points including developmental to...

Methylmercury is a globally distributed pollutant and upper trophic level aquatic fauna are at particularly high risk of exposure. Although methylmercury is known to have a number of neurological and developmental effects, relatively little is known about effects on endocrine disruption and reproduction in aquatic fauna, particularly in response to chronic exposure at low concentrations. We exp...

BACKGROUND Immune dysregulation associated with mercury has been suggested, although data in the general population are lacking. Chronic exposure to low levels of methylmercury (organic) and inorganic mercury is common, such as through fish consumption and dental amalgams. OBJECTIVE We examined associations between mercury biomarkers and antinuclear antibody (ANA) positivity and titer strengt...

As methylmercury is excreted in human milk and infants are particularly susceptible to toxicity due to this compound, the purpose of this study was to evaluate the possible transfer of methylmercury to infants via breast-feeding. In a community with a high intake of seafood, 583 children from a birth cohort were followed. The duration of nursing was recorded, and hair samples were obtained for ...

A concentrated review on the toxicology of inorganic mercury together with an extensive review on the neurotoxicology of methylmercury is presented. The challenges of using inorganic mercury in dental amalgam are reviewed both regarding the occupational exposure and the possible health problems for the dental patients. The two remaining "mysteries" of methylmercury neurotoxicology are also bein...

Mercury exists in various chemical forms. The important forms from a toxicological viewpoint are the metallic form, also called the elemental form, the divalent inorganic forms and methylmercury compounds. Elemental (Hg0) mercury has a high vapor pressure and the vapor causes a number of cases of poisoning via inhalation. Classical mercury poisoning is characterized by a triad of signs, namely ...

Present policy neither evaluates nor adequately protects the fetus from the effects of intrauterine exposure to environmental hazards. Some examples are intrauterine lead and methylmercury exposure and intrauterine PCB exposures. A sound policy based on a few basic principles can be developed to protect the fetus from harm from intrauterine exposures.

Organic mercury compounds were first described in the 1800s, with fatal cases of methylmercury poisoning reported in 1865. Early reports described a distinct set of symptoms of methylmercury toxicity, including altered sensation in the face and extremities, tunnel vision, deafness , loss of coordination, and impaired speech. Nearly a century later, against a backdrop of widespread environmental...

Methylmercury (MeHg) is a global environmental problem and is listed by the International Program of Chemical Safety as one of the six most dangerous chemicals in the world's environment. Human exposure to MeHg primarily occurs through the consumption of contaminated food such as fish, although catastrophic exposures due to industrial pollution have occurred. The fetus is particularly sensitive...