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Mercury poisoning is a type of metal poisoning due to exposure to mercury. [3] Symptoms depend upon the type, dose, method, and duration of exposure. [3] [4] They may include muscle weakness, poor coordination, numbness in the hands and feet, skin rashes, anxiety, memory problems, trouble speaking, trouble hearing, or trouble seeing. [1]
Erethism, [n 1] also known as erethismus mercurialis, mad hatter disease, or mad hatter syndrome, is a neurological disorder which affects the whole central nervous system, as well as a symptom complex, derived from mercury poisoning.
Mercury can bioaccumulate in marine food chains in the form of highly toxic methylmercury which can cause health risks to human seafood consumers. [5] [6] According to statistics, about 66% of global fish consumption comes from the ocean. Therefore, it is important to monitor and regulate oceanic mercury levels to prevent more and more mercury ...
Mercury may change between different states and species in its cycle, but its simplest form is elemental mercury, which itself is harmful to humans and the environment. Once mercury has been liberated from either ores or from fossil fuel and mineral deposits hidden in the Earth's crust and released into the biosphere, it can be highly mobile ...
Minamata disease (Japanese: 水俣病, Hepburn: Minamata-byō) is a neurological disease caused by severe mercury poisoning.Signs and symptoms include ataxia, numbness in the hands and feet, general muscle weakness, loss of peripheral vision, and damage to hearing and speech.
Mercury exposure can also lead to cancer risk, and birth defects. [59] Polychlorinated Biphenyls (PCBs) PCBs are a confirmed carcinogen that is very harmful to human health. [60] A study on a husband and wife who faced PCBs as an occupational hazard suffered from and developed thyroid cancer, and malignant melanoma. [60]
Fluorescent bulbs contain mercury, a toxic substance. The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) provides safety guidelines for how to clean up a broken fluorescent bulb. [17] Mercury can be harmful to children and developing fetuses, so children and pregnant women should avoid being in the area whilst a broken bulb is cleaned up. [18]
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. Humans are exposed to methyl mercury from the consumption of aquatic species. As mercury bioaccumulates through the food chain, the amount of methyl mercury increases to these toxic levels. [11 ...