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By Brian Cronin, Director of AquaMD
(AquaMD is the water testing division of the American Water Council,
a nationally respected provider of water education & testing
services. AquaMD has teamed with Dr. Mercola to provide you both
the free home water evaluation and the Dr. Mercola water testing
packages at http://www.aquamd.com/mercola/labtests.cfm.)
Before the days of digital thermometers, many of us grew up being
poked and prodded with mercury-filled glass tubes whenever we came
down with a sniffle. Nowadays, the mercury thermometer has all but
gone the way of the horse and buggy with good reason: Mercury is
highly toxic.
While mercury occurs naturally in the earth's crust, the vast majority
of contamination occurs via human activity. What are the major sources
of mercury pollution?
- Coal-burning power plants
- The incineration of hazardous waste
- Chlorine production
- Cement manufacturing
- Municipal landfills
- Metal refining
- Sewage
The EPA enforces standards called Maximum Contaminant Levels, or
MCLs. The MCL for mercury is set at 2 parts per billion, a limit
exceeded by only a couple of drops in an Olympic-sized swimming
pool. Today, many municipalities are encouraging residents to dispose
of old mercury thermometers, dry-cell batteries, fluorescent light
bulbs and switches at designated disposal sites for hazardous waste.
The Health Risks
Mercury is a neurotoxin, which means that it affects the nervous
system. The common term "mercury poisoning" refers to
the effect of over-exposure on the human nervous system, organs
and other bodily functions. In fact, the famous phrase, "Mad
as a Hatter," was a direct result of this.
Once upon a time, craftsmen in the 1800s who made hats by hand
were exposed to mercury in the felting process, as they rubbed mercury
into cloth to preserve it. As a result, mercury poisoning commonly
caused trembling, anxiety, personality shifts and dementia and the
Mad Hatter was born.
Today, mercury poisoning manifests itself in many forms:
Acute Exposure: This involves exposure to high doses of mercury
over a short period of time. Exposure can occur when drinking highly
contaminated water, inhaling high levels of mercury vapor, or if
children play with mercury. Nausea, vomiting, diarrhea and severe
kidney damage may also occur.
Chronic Exposure: This form of poisoning happens when exposure
to contamination occurs repeatedly or over an extended period. Eating
too much contaminated fish or drinking repeatedly from a polluted
water supply can lead to chronic mercury poisoning.
Nervous system damage, kidney disease, birth defects, dental problems,
mood swings, mental changes, hallucinations, memory loss, nerve
damage and the inability to concentrate can occur. Symptoms also
include tremors, loss of dermal sensitivity, slurred speech and,
in rare cases, even death and paralysis.
(Soon, I'll write about the wave of warnings concerning contaminated
water supplies nationwide this past summer. Recent EPA studies show
that in the United States, one of every three lakes and one-quarter
of the nation's rivers contain enough pollution that people should
not even think about eating fish caught in these areas -- much less
ever consuming the water.)
Protect Your Family
For starters, you may want to rethink how much fish, if any, should
be in your family's diet. Taking mercury exposure into consideration,
the concept of fish as "brain food" takes on a whole new
meaning.
Be sure to test your home's drinking water at least once a year
for dangerous contaminants, like mercury. Remember, mercury is considered
harmful at level higher than 2 parts per billion. There is no way
to detect it, other than through analysis in a laboratory.
Be smart and be safe.
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