Mercury is a highly useful metal that is number 80 on the Periodic Chart of the elements. It is unique in that it is one of only four elements that is a liquid at room temperature. This fact, along with it being a heavy metal has made mercury both useful and deadly. It is surrounded on the Periodic Chart by metals such as gold, silver, cadmium, and lead, and other heavy metals. Of these metals, only gold is denser.
Mercury was found in Egyptian tombs placed there 3500 years ago. It was known in ancient China and India. Mercury metal comes from cinnabar, or mercury sulfide. Most of the world's supply comes from Spain and Italy in Europe, or California and Texas in the states. People have been used mercury for years in thermometers, barometers, and sphygmomanometers because the column of liquid can be 13 times shorter than using a column of water or a substance the same density as water. The problem is that mercury vapor, mercury metal, and all soluble salts of mercury are all very poisonous.
In spire of its poisonous nature, mercury has been used in a wide variety of ways. Street lights with a blue tinge are generally mercury vapor lights. Vermillion, which is really mercury sulfide, is used as a ship paint to reduce the problem of barnacles. Mercury has also been used in fluorescent lights. If they are broken indoors, the powder coming out contains enough poisonous mercury vapor to be a health risk. Mercury is also used in dental amalgams and some cosmetics though some claim no health risk has ever been proven. When the author growing up, it was common to paint mercurochrome on a wound with a glass rod to keep the wound from being infected. Today it is outlawed.
Today we are much more aware of the far reaching negative effects of heavy metals on health. In fact, these metals have no known need in the body. Their presence is nearly always negative. They get into our bodies in a variety of ways. More specific for this article, the abundant use of mercury in the past has now poisoned water, land, and seas. Mercury poisoning in fish, especially tuna and swordfish, is a problem and fish must be monitored continually.
A few products that use mercury are listed here, each one posing a threat to cause mercury poisoning: air conditioner filters, battery manufacturing, burning newspapers and building materials, cosmetics, fabric softeners, fungicides, industrial waste, lumber, paints, photoengraving, psoriasis ointment, sewage disposal, suppositories, and wood preservatives.
Consider these selected complications caused by mercury poisoning: alopecia, birth defects, cerebral palsy, jerky movements, dermatitis, drowsiness, gum bleeding and soreness, memory loss, migraines, retinitis, schizophrenia, etc. etc. Heavy metals can indirectly or directly damage the very DNA code thus increasing the risk of cancer.
Symptoms like those above often include sensory impairment such as vision, hearing, or speech problems, lack of coordination, and disturbed sensation. The type of symptom and the degree of the problem will depend on the individual, the metal causing the poisoning, and the duration of the exposure.
The number of products that either used or are using some form of mercury is frightening, is it not? So many of these, once discarded, end up in landfills only to leach their poisons into the ground water. City water systems are required to monitor for metal poisons. But if you rely on a well or spring for your drinking or cooking water, you could be in trouble!
In light of these facts, we can be glad that great efforts have been undertaken to rid us of the danger of mercury poisoning. Our immediate responsibility is to be sure that we do what we can to protect ourselves and our family from mercury poisoning, especially in our water systems. Most city water systems monitor and filter out any mercury found in the water. However, if you are on a well, or if you simply want to protect yourselves just in case, then a water filter is highly recommended. A good activated charcoal filter promises to remove 95% of any mercury or other heavy metals in the water through adsorption. The investment in such a filter may be well worth the money, just for the peace of mind it brings.
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