| Mercury & Its Risks
Mercury Exposure Poses a Real Threat to Human
Health & the Environment
While Americans have successfully lowered their exposure to such
bio-toxins as lead, pesticides and tobacco over the past few years, the
risks of mercury exposure are just coming to public attention. We have
been exposed to mercury through fish consumption, vaccinations and
dental amalgam fillings. Potentially hazardous products such as
thermometers, batteries and fluorescent lamps are a normal part of our
everyday life. These sources all contribute to chronic low-level
exposure to a pervasive bio-toxin that, like lead, pesticides, or
tobacco, can ruin our health. Recent studies have linked mercury
exposure to increased risk of heart attack in men, to mental retardation
and neurological disorders in children, and to dangerous levels of
mercury in the blood of women of child bearing age.
More on Mercury
Spent Fluorescent Lamps Must be Properly
Handled and Stored to Limit Mercury Exposure.
Energy efficient fluorescent lamps can contribute to a cleaner
environment, but they must be managed properly. For most us, fluorescent
lamps present the single greatest risk of mercury exposure in the work
place. A recent study of exposure to broken “low mercury” lamps by the
New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection entitled “Release of
Mercury from Broken Fluorescent Bulbs”* demonstrated that “elevated
airborne levels of mercury could exist in the vicinity of recently
broken lamps, and …could exceed occupational exposure limits. Because it
is very likely that discarded fluorescent bulbs will be broken during
conventional waste handling, there is a concern that occupational
exposures to workers handling waste materials may occur.
Merc Alert
http://www.wlssd.duluth.mn.us/publications/mercury.htm
Merc Alert provides a basic education on mercury in our environment. The
Merc Alert program was developed by the Western Lake Superior Sanitation
District with support from the Minnesota Office of Environmental
Assistance. The goal of the Merc Alert program is the reduction of
mercury pollution at its source.
NEWMOA Mercury Program
www.newmoa.org/newmoa/htdocs/prevention/mercury/
This site from the Northeast Waste Management Officials Association is
designed to help states "achieve their 'virtual elimination' goal for
mercury by focusing in particular on efforts to reduce or eliminate
mercury from the waste stream." There is a wealth of information on
mercury at this site including:
- Instructions for cleaning up small liquid
mercury spills in households
- Mercury-added Products Database
- Indoor Air Mercury - a report describing why
mercury is a problem in indoor air with guidelines for mercury
exposure limits
EPA Region 5 Mercury Workgroup
www.epa.gov/region5/air/mercury/mercury.html
This site contains a wide variety of information and links "about
understanding the impact of mercury on human health and the environment,
and about reducing mercury whether through regulation or through
sector-specific voluntary activities."
US EPA Mercury Home Page
http://www.epa.gov/mercury/
What should I do if I have a mercury spill?
http://www.epa.gov/epaoswer/hazwaste/mercury/spills.htm
US Department of Health and Human Services and the US EPA
http://www.cfsan.fda.gov/~dms/admehg3.html
What you need to know about Mercury in Fish and Shellfish
Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry
http://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/tfacts46.html
Fact sheet that answers the most frequently asked questions about
mercury
How Mercury Causes Brain Neuron Degeneration
View a 5 minute video explaining and visually demonstrating "How
Mercury Causes Brain Neuron Degeneration" based on a recent study by
the University of Calgary Faculty of Medicine.
QuickTime Version
Mercury Vaporizes at Room Temperature
This
50-second video clearly illustrates
why mercury is such an insidious bio-toxin. With the help of ultraviolet
lighting, liquid mercury is seen vaporizing at room temperature. This
process occurs in any exposure of liquid mercury to the atmosphere. The
normally invisible vapor is readily inhaled. |
