Mercury toxicity is a serious problem since mercury does not degrade in the environment and so once it is there as a contaminant, it is difficult to remove. It is highly toxic, particularly to children and the developing fetus, where it interferes with development, particularly the maturation process of the brain. Whatever form mercury is in - elemental, inorganic, or organic - it is toxic, and there is no truly effective treatment once it gets into the human body. Chelation therapy may help, but there are doubts as to its effectiveness or its ability to reduce the toxic effects which may have already occurred.
Most mercury pollution comes from industrial air pollution, although more and more water is becoming polluted from industrial effluents. Fish swimming in mercury-polluted waters become polluted themselves by ingesting microorganisms which have taken in mercury, and humans who eat such fish can absorb mercury from them. Power plants and automobiles are major sources of pollution in the air due to mercury. Fossil-fuel using plants are particularly polluting in this regard. The Environmental Protection Agency is working to clean up sources and eliminate mercury pollution where feasible, and is working with industry to encourage the use of alternative materials which do not contain mercury wherever possible. It will take many years to rid the environment of the mercury pollution which is already there.
Mercury is a widespread environmental pollutant which can cause a variety of severe health problems in humans (Goldman and Shannon (2001). Mercury exists in three different forms: as an element (quicksilver), as inorganic mercury salts, and in organic compounds such as methylmercury, ethylmercury and phenylmercury. Each different form of mercury has different properties of solubility, reactivity, biological reactivity, and toxicity, and is different in its effects on humans. The most common forms of mercury poisoning...