Search results
Results from the WOW.Com Content Network
High-level exposure to methylmercury is known as Minamata disease. [2] Methylmercury exposure in children may result in acrodynia (pink disease) in which the skin becomes pink and peels. [2] Long-term complications may include kidney problems and decreased intelligence. [2] The effects of long-term low-dose exposure to methylmercury are unclear ...
Structures of two main types of complexes formed by methylmercury. X − = anion, L = neutral Lewis base. Methylmercury (sometimes methyl mercury) is an organometallic cation with the formula [CH 3 Hg] +. It is the simplest organomercury compound. Methylmercury is extremely toxic, and its derivatives are the major source of organic mercury for ...
Prior to the 1950s, the "scientific community was unaware of the effects of methylmercury on humans". [9] In a 1958 article in The Lancet, two medical doctors reported their findings which confirmed a "link between methylmercury contaminated fish and human neurologic symptoms."
The toxicity of methylmercury in humans is due to methyl mercury crossing the blood-brain barrier and causing cell lysis in the central nervous system. The cell damage is irreversible. The half-life of methylmercury in human tissue is 70 days, which allows it ample time to accumulate to toxic levels.
Minamata disease is a disease of the central nervous system, a poisoning caused by long-term consumption, in large amounts, of fish and shellfish from Minamata Bay. The causative agent is methylmercury. Methylmercury produced in the acetaldehyde acetic acid facility of Shin Nihon Chisso's Minamata factory was discharged in factory wastewater...
The environments that methylmercury levels are most commonly found in at high levels are wetlands, newly flooded reservoirs, aquatic areas close to mining sites or factories, bays, and waterways with low pH levels, as this is strongly correlated with rate of bacteria methylmercury production. mercury release sites from anthropomorphic and ...
This phenomenon can determine the bioavailability and toxicity of mercury in the ocean. Some methylmercury is released into the ocean through river run-off. However, most of the methylmercury found in the ocean is produced in–situ (inside the ocean itself). [11] Methylation of inorganic mercury can occur via biotic and abiotic pathways.
Some elemental and chemical forms of mercury (vapor, methylmercury, inorganic mercury) are more toxic than other forms. The human fetus and medically compromised people (for example, patients with lung or kidney problems) are the most susceptible to the toxic effects of mercury. [9]