Mercury is Five Times as Toxic as Lead and Twice as Toxic as Cadmium

Mercury Creates Diverse Negative Health Effects

It appears in three forms: elemental, inorganic, and organic compounds.

The Elemental Form Turns into a Gas, and Most Human Exposure is by Breathing

The vapor readily crosses the lung tissues and has a very strong attraction for red blood cells and the central nervous system.

The kidneys contain the greatest concentrations. The  organic form has a greater attraction for the brain. All forms cross the placenta to the fetus.

The elemental form is converted to the divalent form.

Inhaled vapor, absorbed by the red blood cells, is transformed to the divalent form, but a portion also travels to target tissues such as the brain where it can be transformed into an excretable form.

It's biologic half-life is between 35-90 days.

Mercury Binds to a Variety of Enzyme Systems 

These include the respiratory system and the energy producing mitochondrial enzymes, where it can produce cell injury or even cell death. In liver cells, the methyl form complexes with the amino acid cysteine and glutathione.

With chronic exposure to vapor, the major effects are on the central nervous system. Early signs are non-specific.

The early clinical findings include:

• tremors
• enlargement of the thyroid
• fast heartbeat
• gingivitis
• blood cell changes
• increased excretion in the urine

With increasing exposure, symptoms include:

• tremors of muscles that perform fine motor functions
• such as fingers, eyelids, and lips
• these progress to a generalized trembling of the entire body and violent chronic spasms of the extremities

Along with these changes:

• personality and behavior may change
• loss of memory
• severe depression
• even delirium and hallucinations
• another characteristic feature of toxicity is severe salivation and gingivitis

The methyl form is the most important form  in terms of toxicity. Airborne mercury can be transported great distances and is an extremely widespread pollutant, contaminating remote lakes and distant ocean waters once thought to be pristine and immune to toxic exposure.

Clinical signs of neural toxic effects are:

• parathesia, a numbness and tingling sensation around the mouth, lips, and extremities, particularly the fingers and toes
• ataxia, a clumsy stumbling gait
• difficulty in swallowing and articulating words
• neuraesthenia, a generalized sensation of weakness, fatigue, and inability to concentrate
• vision and hearing loss
• spasticity and tremor
• finally, comma and death

Mercury and Selenium Interactions 

The selenium-mercury interaction has been widely studied.

Selenium protects against acute toxicity of mercury. The mechanism of action is unknown, but vitamin E and other antioxidants also decrease toxicity.

This suggests that selenium may decrease toxicity by counter-acting the effects of free radicals generated by toxicity to cell membranes.

The average American has 13 milligrams of this heavy metal in his body of which his brain, kidneys, liver, and hair contain the most concentrated amounts.

In humans, it leaves the body fairly quickly, unlike lead and cadmium, which stay.

It's about five times as toxic as lead, about as toxic as cadmium and antimony, and much less toxic than beryllium. The methyl form is 50 times as toxic and it stays in fat and nerve tissue (brain) 14 times longer.

Coal-burning power plants are the single largest source of  this toxic heavy metal pollutant and the only major source that the government does not regulate.

Childhood Vaccines are Another Significant Source of Mercury Toxicity 

Vaccines use Thimerosal in the manufacturing process as an antibacterial agent.

Thimerosal is a significant source of ethyl mercury, the most toxic form known. Through the mandatory vaccine program, the average six-month-old infant receives, on a daily basis, 150% of the EPA-estimated safe dose  for adults.

This highly toxic dose is added to the already existing tissue accumulation that the developing fetus received in utero from maternal tissue stores.

Further, accumulation comes from the high amount of spewed everyday from coal-burning utilities. Therefore, it can be reasonably assumed that almost 100% of infants and young children have accumulated a significant amount of this dangerous toxin and will suffer.