Mercury is a naturally occurring element in our environment. It has many industrial uses and can be found in trace amounts in light bulbs, electric switches, glass thermometers, batteries, pesticides and fungicides, can be absorbed within the food supply and is regularly found in fish. It has even been used as a medicine, treating syphilis in the 1950s. Mercury can be found in the environment in three different forms, all of which are toxic to humans and can have debilitating long-term health effects. These three forms are elemental mercury, inorganic mercury and organic mercury.
Elemental
Elemental mercury can be found in glass thermometers, electrical switches, fluorescent light bulbs, dental fillings and medical equipment. Elemental mercury in its liquid form has minimal long-term effects because its liquid form is lipid insoluble and too dense to be absorbed by the digestive system into the bloodstream. Considerable long-term consequences may exist when exposed to a elemental mercury in its vaporized state. It can be absorbed into the blood and trapped within the lungs and spine, causing significant damage to the lungs, brain and central nervous system. Chronic symptoms may include metallic taste, vomiting, difficulty breathing and swollen or bloody gums. The classic triad of chronic elemental mercury symptoms are tremors, gingivitis, and erethism, a combination of neuropsychiatric disorders that may include memory loss, insomnia, emotional instability, uncontrolled perspiration, vasomotor disturbance and/or depression.
Inorganic
Inorganic mercury can found in batteries, chemistry labs, some disinfectants and some folk culture medicines. Chronic exposure to processed mercury either occupationally, through products such as diuretics, and mercurial salts or salves may produce symptoms of inorganic mercury poisoning. These symptoms may include loosening or loss of teeth, abdominal pain, kidney or renal failure, dementia and acrodynia. Acrodynia (Pink disease) is largely considered a mercurial allergy. Symptoms may include erythema of the palms and soles, edema of the hands and feet, rash, hair loss, hypertension, photophobia, irritability, anorexia, insomnia, poor muscle tone, pruritus, diaphoresis, tachycardia and constipation or diarrhea. Acrodynia is not present in all cases in of inorganic mercury poisoning, but it is considered an indicator of chronic exposure.
Organic
Organic mercury can be found in antiseptics (germ-killers), such as merbromin (this substance is now banned by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration), and thimerosal, fumes from burning coal converted into organic mercury by certain organisms, and fish that have eaten a form of organic mercury called methylmercury. The effects of organic mercury are usually only seen over time and are primarily neurological. Special caution is urged for children and pregnant women, as prolonged exposure may lead to underdevelopment and retardation. Organic mercury targets enzymes, and symptoms tend to occur after the widespread depletion of these enzymes. These symptoms include numbness, mental deterioration, uncontrollable shakes or tremors, loss of coordination, blindness and/or double vision, and with severe exposure, seizures, strokes, paralysis or death.
Treatment
Inhaled elemental mercury is difficult to treat because it becomes trapped within the spine and bones. Treatment will begin in the lungs, proceeding with humidified oxygen, breathing or suction tubes inserted into the lungs. Medication is usually administered for long-term removal of mercury from the system. The treatment of long-term inorganic and organic mercury poisoning will include activated charcoal to soak up soluble mercury from the digestive system and medicines called chelators that remove mercury from the blood and organs over a period of days, weeks or months.
Prevention
Understanding your housing, work and food environments are keys to avoiding exposure to mercury. Housing built on torn-down manufacturing complexes may present exposure hazards, especially for children. Proper precaution should be undertaken to ensure a living area's decontamination. Occupational exposures account for a large amount of mercurial exposures for workers and families, so it is important to understand, analyze and review a workplace's guidelines and policies for exposure and handling of hazardous materials. It is, again, also important for pregnant women to consult a physician about their diet and possibility of exposure, especially in regards to consuming fish.
