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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 ...
Health effects of mercury depend on various factors like form of mercury, age of the person, prior exposure health of the person, concentration, and how it gets into the individual (eating, breathing, etc.). According to researches, the most common form that is found in living organisms is methylmercury, called Minamata disease^3.
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.
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.
However, methylmercury is taken up at a faster rate than other forms and bioaccumulates to a greater extent. The biomagnification of methylmercury has a most significant influence on the impact on animals and humans. Fish appear to bind methylmercury strongly, nearly 100 percent of mercury that bioaccumulates in predator fish is methylmercury. [21]
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 ...
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."