Is mercury safe for kids?

Acute or chronic mercury exposure can cause adverse effects during any period of development. Mercury is a highly toxic element; there is no known safe level of exposure. Ideally, neither children nor adults should have any mercury in their bodies because it provides no physiological benefit.

What is a safe level of mercury?

The mercury concentration in whole blood is usually lower than 10 μg/L, but the value of 20 μg/L or below is considered normal. The blood mercury concentration can rise to 35 μg/L after long-term exposure to mercury vapor [10].

Why Is a child more likely to be at risk from mercury exposure than an adult?

Children are considered especially vulnerable to environmental threats since when exposed to stressors they respond differently than adults [1], mostly due to their immature immune defenses.

How do kids get exposed to mercury?

Children are exposed to inorganic mercury compounds, elemental mercury or mercury vapor less commonly. Inhalation of vapor usually occurs during industrial processes using elemental mercury such as extraction of gold from ore.

Is mercury safe to touch?

Mercury is a very toxic or poisonous substance that people can be exposed to in several ways. If it is swallowed, like from a broken thermometer, it mostly passes through your body and very little is absorbed. If you touch it, a small amount may pass through your skin, but not usually enough to harm you.

What life long effects might mercury have on a child?

Exposure to mercury – even small amounts – may cause serious health problems, and is a threat to the development of the child in utero and early in life. Mercury may have toxic effects on the nervous, digestive and immune systems, and on lungs, kidneys, skin and eyes.

What happens if your mercury level is too high?

Long-term exposure to high levels of methylmercury causes effects primarily on the nervous system. Symptoms of long-term high level methylmercury exposure include disturbances in vision, hearing and speech, as well as tingling and numbness in fingers and toes, lack of coordination and muscle weakness.

Is mercury toxic to touch?

What food is high in mercury?

Here are eight foods you should avoid to reduce your exposure to dietary mercury.

• Swordfish. A predatory fish that inhabits several ocean zones, swordfish is one of the highest sources of mercury.
• Shark.
• Tilefish.
• King Mackerel.
• Bigeye Tuna.
• Marlin.
• Orange Roughy.
• Chilean Sea Bass.

How many parts per million of mercury is safe?

The EPA has established a limit of 2 parts per billion (ppb) of allowable mercury of drinking water. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has set a maximum permissible level of 1 part of methylmercury in a million parts of seafood (1 ppm).

What happens to a child with low mercury levels?

Some studies suggest that children of mothers with blood mercury levels as low as 30 to 40 ng/ml may exhibit delayed development and subtle nervous system effects during early childhood. Some reports suggest that similar blood mercury levels may be associated with visual, nervous, or cardiovascular system effects in adults.

What is the lowest mercury level you can get in your blood?

The lower 95% confidence limit of this estimate was 58 µg/L. All blood mercury levels for persons in the Fourth Report were less than 33 µg/L.

What are the symptoms of mercury poisoning in adults?

Some reports suggest that similar blood mercury levels may be associated with visual, nervous, or cardiovascular system effects in adults. Blood mercury levels above 100 ng/mL have been reported to be associated with clear signs of mercury poisoning in some individuals (e.g., poor muscle coordination, tingling and numbness in fingers and toes).

Which is the best test for mercury exposure?

The most commonly accepted methods of assessing mercury exposure are to test urine or blood. Both tests usually measure levels of total mercury (elemental, inorganic and organic).