The Dangers of Mercury

Mercury is Hg with an atomic number of 80 on the periodic table. Mercury is a heavy, silvery metal which is liquid at room temperature. It’s one of six elements that have the liquid characteristic at or near room temperature and pressure. Mercury is a rare element in the earths crust. It occurs naturally only rarely. Usually it’s found in cinnabar, livingstonite, corderoite and other metals. Most commonly it’s found in cinnabar. It is found in volcanic regions and hot springs areas, usually in newer orogenic belts where high density rocks are forced upwards to the crust of the earth.

Historically, mercury was thought to be a good and healthful substance. The first emperor of China was said to have taken mercury pills to give him eternal life. Instead the mercury pills drove him insane, destroyed his liver, poisoned his system, and eventually his brain was destroyed and he died. And, Romans and Egyptians alike used it in cosmetics.

Mercury is harmless as mercuric sulfide, its insoluble form. However, it’s poisonous in soluble forms like methyl mercury or mercuric chloride.

Today, we know it for the danger it presents as well as the uses we’ve gotten from it. Mercury and most of its compounds are extremely toxic. Most people who use any of them know to handle them with extreme care. The extra threat from mercury is that it is easily absorbed through the skin. It can also be inhaled when it’s heated. Organic compounds of mercury are the most toxic forms. Examples are methyl mercury and dimethylmercury.

Exposure to Mercury

Basically, mercury can enter the body through inhalation, ingestion and skin absorption. It is often used in meters, like thermometers, barometers, and other scientific equipment. However, due to the toxicity of mercury, many people are phasing out these mercury items in favor of alcohol-filled, digital and other alternative instruments.

Mercury is often a danger in industrial settings. Most commonly the threat is present in power plants that use coal, medical applications (including vaccinations). It gets into the water supply and into seafood. It’s still used in the cinnabar form as components of Tibetan, Chinese and Auyrvedic medicines. Mercury (I) chloride is used in medicine sometimes. Mercury (II) sulfide is used in the paint pigment, vermillion. It’s still used in fluorescent light bulbs because of its efficiency.

Efforts to control exposure to mercury have been in place for quite some time. The Environmental Protection Agency in 2005 declared power plants had to be listed as sources that needed to be controlled. As early as 1990, the United States Clean Air Act was passed and it included mercury on a list of toxic pollutants that needed to be controlled to the greatest extent possible.

Organic Mercury Concentration in Commercial Fish

What Does Mercury Do To The Body?

The danger of mercury, though controlled to an extent, is still present. There are industries that still want to defend the use and production of mercury. There are still unsafe disposal practices that are difficult to police.

Mercury can severely diminish health. It is something that the body has no use for, at all. Most of the mercury that enters the body is stored in the kidneys. The rest is dispersed throughout the body, blood, spleen, brain, liver, bones and fatty tissues also hold mercury. It poses a threat to growing fetuses and it can get into breast milk.

Some of the responses to mercury are varying in intensity depending on the form and level of exposure. Functional changes from occupational exposure include irritability, excitability, shyness and insomnia. Continued exposure can develop into violent muscular spasms. Acute exposure to mercury vapor has been recorded as the cause of profound effects on the nervous system including psychotic reactions like hallucinations, suicidal tendencies and delirium.

What Can Be Done About Mercury Poisoning?

The Mercury Testing Kit

If you work in areas that are positive for mercury emissions or use the substance or any of its compounds, then you may be affected. You need to be proactive about removing the toxins from your environment and from your body, as much as possible.

Mercury treatment is not nearly as developed as it would need to be to make one feel safe. Still, there are measures you can take to cleanse metals like mercury from your body.

• Learn the keys to a healthier lifestyle by addressing your diet and external environment.
• Use the Heavy Metal Test - Mercury to determine your baseline level.
• Cleanse your body using Dr. Group's 6-Day Advanced Oxygen Colon Cleanse.
• With your body cleansed, you can begin Dr. Group's Heavy Metal Cleanse to remove the toxic heavy metals from your body.

Be prepared. Heavy metals removal is a slow process. You should test yourself again after three months to be certain that the levels are decreasing.

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