The Native American populations of Quebec consume fish primarily during the summer months, and the mercury content of their hair reflects peak concentrations during the summer and lower concentrations during the winter. In contrast, populations that depend on ocean fish as their main source of protein tend to have relatively stable elevated levels of mercury in their hair.
Fortunately, limited studies in both types of consumers suggest that they are not exhibiting even the most subtle signs of poisoning.
Studies of wildlife have come to different conclusions, however. In Maine and New Hampshire there is evidence that loons have experienced reproductive and immune problems due to cumulative poisoning from eating mercury-contaminated fish. In , a major epidemic occurred in Iraq in which 6, persons were hospitalized and almost died. In a well-intentioned humane response to famine, several nations shipped wheat grain intended for planting to Iraq.
The seeds had been treated with a methylmercury-containing fungicide to hold down mold growth and preserve the viability of the seeds.
The seeds were also dyed red to serve as a warning, and attempts were made to inform the natives of the hazards of eating the seeds directly.
Unfortunately, the warnings on the bags were in Spanish, because some of the grain had originated in Mexico, and the skull and crossbones, recognized by westerners as meaning poison, meant nothing to the Iraqis.
In the face of starvation many families milled the seeds directly into flour, and made and consumed the contaminated bread. There would have been no danger in eating grain grown from the treated seeds, because the subsequent crop would contain little or no methylmercury. The population of the United States has been fortunate in avoiding mass poisonings in the past, but there was one isolated series of cases in involving a single family in Almagordo, New Mexico.
The father worked in a seed store, which supplied local farmers, and he maintained a few pigs at home. He noticed a significant amount of wastage in the form of spilled seed grain at the store, and he began sweeping it up to feed to his pigs. Within a short time his pigs became obviously ill. Fearful of the loss of his investment, the father had them butchered, and he froze the meat for the use of his family.
Three of them were eventually poisoned severely. Twenty-two years after this incident all surviving members of the family were carefully examined and tested. In this interim the two youngest children had died, and autopsy and toxicological findings were available from one of these.
Both were left in a vegetative state until their deaths. Some recovery did occur in the older children, but the visual defects, including blindness in one and constricted visual fields in the other, did not improve.
Neither parent showed signs of poisoning, although both were exposed. Toxicological studies suggested that methylmercury, which readily crosses the blood-brain-barrier, is converted to inorganic mercury in the brain. Since inorganic mercury does not readily cross biological membranes, it is effectively trapped in the brain, but it is not clear which of the two species is responsible for the brain pathology. The use of methylmercury as a fungicide has been suspended in the United States, and since this was the only commercial use for the chemical, it is no longer manufactured in this country.
It is, however, still found in the environment as a result of bacterial methylation of inorganic mercury. Throughout the 20th-century, mercury has been useful in a number of everyday items — alkaline batteries, fluorescent light bulbs, electrical switches, scientific and medical devices and the ubiquitous thermometer. This was the first time in which the children of mercury-handling workers were proven to have been affected.
The plant closed in Several plant workers have since settled lawsuits with the company for undisclosed sums. Another lawsuit brought against the company by the town of Poultney and the state of Vermont was settled in September of As part of a goal to eliminate mercury from medical equipment, some communities have sponsored thermometer exchanges.
For example, at a one-day event in , the Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center in Hanover, New Hampshire exchanged approximately mercury thermometers brought in by staff for digital, non-mercury thermometers. Click image for a larger view Source: Massachusetts Executive Office of Environmental Affairs, view of a botanica - candles, figurines. Statutes and Other Information: It is not illegal to use elemental mercury; however many states, including Connecticut, Maine, New Hampshire, New York, Rhode Island, and Vermont, restrict the sale and distribution of elemental mercury.
However, much of the sale and distribution of elemental mercury for religious and ritualistic purposes operates underground.
In some instances, persons have even been to known to sell azogue out of their homes. There are many examples of community campaigns, organized by local departments of public health and environmental protection, which provide outreach and education to those who participate in the cultural and spiritual use of metallic mercury.
Links to these specific outreach and education programs and other useful information can be found in the "General References" section at the bottom of the page. As a liquid metal, Hindus regard mercury as the sperm of Lord Shiva and believe that it is the purest metal, with not only religious importance but medical significance as well.
Because mercury is liquid at room temperature, a solidification process using silver metal produces the various items used in Indian tradition. The exact ratio of mercury to silver varies - some websites state that parad is made of 90 percent mercury and 10 percent silver, while others claim only percent is mercury.
Purpose: The worship of parad in Indian culture is said to destroy one's sins - Hindus believe that by touching a Parad Shivling, one's sins are removed. The solid parad balls i. Wearing these parad beads e. Solid mercury-based Indian idols are used in homes and in temples to keep away the evil eye. However, it is unclear whether there is a possibility of mercury vapor being emitted from these items. Measure content performance. Develop and improve products.
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Alden, Andrew. About the Element Mercury. Chemical Element Pictures - Photo Gallery. Metal Profile and Properties of Tellurium. A Guide to Mercury Applications in Metalurgy. Liquid Elements on the Periodic Table. Chemical and Physical Properties of Gold. Your Privacy Rights. To change or withdraw your consent choices for ThoughtCo.
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