Mercury

A new comer to the forum and home sick I have had time to read through the older threads.

One thread mentions mercury. I speak with some expertise. I work in the environmental field doing assessments of historic hazardous waste disposal sites. One of my charges are the Danbury and Norwalk Connecticut former hat factories sites.

Most people into hats know Danbury as the universe of the hat industry: Mallory, Stetson, American Hats and Furrier. Norwalk was also the home to several manufacturers including the big one American Hat also known as Dobbs. Many smaller shops were in both cities and surrounding towns. With the rail lines being built into CT in the mid to late 1880s the hat factories moved into the State.

Mercury was used in the carroting process (called carroting because the chemical treatment was orange). The carroting process involved the use of mercury in a solution of boiling nitric acid to seperate the individual hairs on the pelt for better felting. Mercury is the only gasous metal at room temperature and when placed in boiling acid, fumes are everywhere. Mercury is toxic to the nervous system (Mad Hatters Syndrome) and accumulates in the food chain (bioaccumulation). Today if a little mercury spills in a school the place is evacuated.

Mercury was always a big issue for the unions due to worker safety. In the early to mid 1940s the use of mercury was forbidden for the carrottimg process in Connecticut. This was added by the war effort and the demand for mercury. It has not been used in felting since.

Mercury is persistent in the environment. Many of the historic sites are being assessed and cleaned-up. The differcult part is that the factories were bulit on waterways and the wastestreams were dumped into the river. With time the sediments have eroded down stream or washed onto the banks of the rivers. This too is being assessed.

American Hat (Dobbs) closed its doors in Norwalk in the early 1960s. Mallory (Stetson) left Danbury in the 1980s. They are nolonger hatters in CT, only the remaining contamination.

Very Interesting

Working in a Health unit, I am equally aware of the dangers of mercury. The one amazing thing I just can't understand is the continuing use of Thermosil (or mercury)as a stabilizer in numerous vacines. I've often protested vacines that use it and have been told to shut up and also (as per policy) had my job threatened . "I take the shot or I find another job!". I find it amazing how the Public Health/Medical field is so hypocritical. Can you comment on levels that are dangerous and do you know if mercury ever leaves the body

Very interesting
Kilgour Trout

I am an environmental scientist, not a health official. Forgive me, but my standard response is contact the Department of Health.

Ain't it so!

Hey JHR: A true response if there ever was one . When I ask the answer is usually.."Stop whining..whats a little mercury?" or would you like mercury with your salad Sir? LOL

Anyway....thanks for the response
Kilgour Trout

Oh, but , no, but though. Never stop asking. Mercury is a hot button. Some of the issues are real, some are blown way out of proportion.

My standard answer is necessary as a regulator. My charge is well defined. When a Health Official talks about environmental science it makes me nervous because they don't have the expertise to get it right.

Likewise I ought not answer queries about health issues.

LONG WINDED REPLY

I also work in the Environmental field. I will issue a disclaimer stating that I am not a doctor, blah, blah, blah.

jrh is correct in his posting. Mercury is called a persisitant bio-accumulative toxin (PBT) and builds up in the tissues. It is one of those chemicals that is a huge concern in today's environmental world. Methylmercury is highly toxic. The developing fetus is the most sensitive to the effects of mercury, and so women of childbearing age are the population of greatest concern

According to the Centers for Disease Control, eight percent of the women of childbearing age have levels of mercury in their blood that exceeds the level EPA considers safe In addition, there is growing evidence that methylmercury exposure can have adverse cardiovascular effects for adults, resulting in elevated blood pressure and incidence of heart attack.

Mercury is a naturally occurring element that is present throughout the environment. In the U.S., coal-fired power plants are the biggest source of mercury emissions to the air. When liquid mercury is spilled, it forms droplets that can accumulate in the tiniest of spaces and then emit vapors into the air. Health problems caused by mercury depend on how much has entered your body, how it entered your body, how long you have been exposed to it, and how your body responds to the mercury.

Mercury concentrations in air are usually low and of little direct concern. But when mercury enters water, biological processes transform it to a highly toxic form that builds up in fish and animals that eat fish. People are exposed to mercury primarily by eating fish.

Small organisms take this up as they feed. As animals higher up the food chain eat those small organisms, they also take in methylmercury. The process, known as bioaccumulation, continues with levels of mercury increasing as it moves up the food chain.

Fish that are higher in the food chain, such as sharks and swordfish, have much higher mercury concentration than fish that are lower on the food chain. Humans become exposed when they eat fish that are contaminated with mercury. Predator fish ?¢‚Ǩ‚Äú big fish that eat smaller fish ?¢‚Ǩ‚Äú tend to have higher methylmercury concentrations than other fish. Certain species of commercially available saltwater fish, such as shark and swordfish, kingfish and tilefish also can contain high levels of mercury. So much for ealting all that fish to be healthy.

I understand that there are chelant antioxidants that can help remove mercury, but you should either use the natural ones or see your doctor as these may be dangerous. Keep in mind that to get mercury out of the soft tissues is easier than geting it out of the nervous system. Selenium, iron, zinc, manganese & sulfur intake reportedly influences your bodies removal of mercury.

In either event, it myst pass through the bodies filters (kidneys and liver) and may cause complications in those organs as well. The thyroids pull out the mercury and send it to the liver. The liver filters it out and sends it to the kidneys. The kidneys push it down to (well, you know where) where it finally leaves.

Oh yeah, symptoms include, headache, irritability, hair loss, wrist and ankle pain, memory loss, mood instability, tremor and other stress-like symptoms: poor coordination, visual and hearing problems.

There are simple urine tests that can detect excessive mercury. A previous question was "what levels are dangerous?" Last year the EPA recommended to Congress that the tolerable daily intake of mercury be dropped to just one-fifth the current allowable level, to about 6 micrograms per day. This is the same as 6 parts per billion. What is "safe" is different from how much it takes to affect each individual.

Don't rule out those dental fillings as a source of mercury.

Finally some facts on this forums. Well done!

[edited by Mod].