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Mercury poisoning is a type of metal poisoning due to exposure to mercury. [3] Symptoms depend upon the type, dose, method, and duration of exposure. [3] [4] They may include muscle weakness, poor coordination, numbness in the hands and feet, skin rashes, anxiety, memory problems, trouble speaking, trouble hearing, or trouble seeing. [1]
Minamata disease (Japanese: 水俣病, Hepburn: Minamata-byō) is a neurological disease caused by severe mercury poisoning.Signs and symptoms include ataxia, numbness in the hands and feet, general muscle weakness, loss of peripheral vision, and damage to hearing and speech.
The human fetus and medically compromised people (for example, patients with lung or kidney problems) are the most susceptible to the toxic effects of mercury. [9] Mercury poisoning can also occur outside of occupational exposures including in the home.
This element is known to bioaccumulate in humans, so bioaccumulation in seafood carries over into human populations, where it can result in mercury poisoning. Mercury is dangerous to both natural ecosystems and humans because it is a metal known to be highly toxic, especially due to its neurotoxic ability to damage the central nervous system ...
Methylmercury (sometimes methyl mercury) is an organometallic cation with the formula [CH 3 Hg] +. It is the simplest organomercury compound. Methylmercury is extremely toxic, and its derivatives are the major source of organic mercury for humans. It is a bioaccumulative environmental toxicant with a 50-day half-life.
Health effects of mercury depend on various factors like form of mercury, age of the person, prior exposure health of the person, concentration, and how it gets into the individual (eating, breathing, etc.). According to researches, the most common form that is found in living organisms is methylmercury, called Minamata disease^3.
Mercury may change between different states and species in its cycle, but its simplest form is elemental mercury, which itself is harmful to humans and the environment. Once mercury has been liberated from either ores or from fossil fuel and mineral deposits hidden in the Earth's crust and released into the biosphere, it can be highly mobile ...
Prior to the 1950s, the "scientific community was unaware of the effects of methylmercury on humans". [9] In a 1958 article in The Lancet, two medical doctors reported their findings which confirmed a "link between methylmercury contaminated fish and human neurologic symptoms."