Acute Health Effects:
The nervous system is very sensitive to all forms of mercury. Methylmercury
and metallic mercury vapors are more harmful than other forms, because
more mercury in these forms reaches the brain. Exposure to high levels
of metallic, inorganic, or organic mercury can permanently damage the
brain, kidneys, and developing fetus. Short-term exposure to high
levels of metallic mercury vapors may cause effects including lung damage,
nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, increases in blood pressure or heart rate,
skin rashes, and eye irritation.
Chronic Health Effects:
Long-term mercury exposure effects on brain functioning may result in
irritability, shyness, tremors, changes in vision or hearing, and memory
problems.
Health Effects During and
After Pregnancy: Mercury in the mother’s body passes to the fetus
and may accumulate there. While the benefits of breast-feeding may be
greater than the possible adverse effects, mercury can pass to a nursing
infant through breast milk. Very young children are more sensitive to
mercury than adults. Mercury’s harmful effects that may be passed
from the mother to her baby include brain damage, mental retardation,
blindness, seizures, muteness, and lack of coordination. Children poisoned
by mercury exposure after birth may develop problems of their nervous
and digestive systems, and suffer kidney damage.
Carcinogenic Effects:
There are insufficient human cancer data available to implicate all
forms of mercury as a causal factor. In laboratory testing, however,
mercuric chloride has been shown to cause increases in several types
of tumors in rats and mice, and methylmercury has caused kidney tumors
in male mice. Based on these results, the EPA determined that mercuric
chloride and methylmercury are potential human carcinogens.
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