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This review covers the toxicology of mercury and its compounds. Special attention is paid to those forms of mercury of current public health concern. Human exposure to the vapor of metallic mercury dates back to antiquity but continues today in occupational settings and from dental amalgam. Health risks from methylmercury in edible tissues of fish have been the subject of several large epidemiological investigations and continue to be the subject of intense debate. Ethylmercury in the form of a preservative, thimerosal, added to certain vaccines, is the most recent form of mercury that has become a public health concern. The review leads to general discussion of evolutionary aspects of mercury, protective and toxic mechanisms, and ends on a note that mercury is still an \"element of mystery.\"

Mercury poisoning still occurs as a result of accidental and occupational exposure. For the general population, however, the main concern is the possible adverse effect of exposure to mercury through fish consumption and the receipt of dental amalgams and thimerosal, a preservative used in vaccines. This review summarizes both the facts and the controversies surrounding exposure to methyl mercury, mercury vapor, and the ethyl mercury in thimerosal. Mercury has been used commercially and medically for centuries. In the past it was a common constituent of many medications. It is still used in hospitals in thermometers and blood-pressure cuffs and commercially in batteries, switches, and fluorescent light bulbs. Large quantities of metallic mercury are employed as electrodes in the electrolytic production of chlorine and sodium hydroxide from saline. These uses still give rise to accidental and occupational exposures. 1 Today, however, exposure of the general population comes from three major sources: fish consumption, dental amalgams, and vaccines. Each has its own characteristic form of mercury and distinctive toxicologic profile . . .

Mercury is ubiquitous in the environment and therefore every human being, irrespective of age and location, is exposed to one form of mercury or another. The major source of environmental mercury is natural degassing of the earth's crust, but industrial activities can raise exposure to toxic levels directly or through the use or misuse of the liquid metals or synthesized mercurial compounds. The aim of this review is to survey differences in human exposure and in the toxicology of different forms of mercury. It covers not only symptoms and signs observed in poisoned individuals by a clinician but also subclinical effects in population studies, the final evaluation of which is the domain of statisticians.

Role of dental amalgam as the main source of human total mercury body burden was studied. The dental amalgam was the main source of human total mercury body burden, as individuals with amalgam had 2-12 times the body burden compared with those without amalgam. A WHO expert committee noted that inorganic mercury split from methyl mercury in the brain was in the form of mercury-selenium complex, which was highly insoluble and toxicologically inert. No significant differences in developmental and performance scores between children receiving amalgam fillings as compared to those receiving non-mercury filling were observed. Some degree of risk was present in the use of medical or dental devices, but amalgam stood the test of time.

The carcinogenic properties of selected metals and their compounds are reviewed to provide a useful reference for existing knowledge on relationships between physical and chemical forms, kinetics and carcinogenic potential and between epidemiology, bioassays, and short-term tests. Extensive consideration is given to arsenic, beryllium, cadmium, chromium, lead, and nickel. Other metals such as antimony, cobalt, copper, iron, manganese, selenium, and zinc are discussed briefly.

To the Editor: As a public health official who has been raising the consciousness of my community with regard to the potential hazards of eating mercury-containing fish, I am disturbed by the review article on mercury by Clarkson and colleagues (Oct. 30 issue). 1 The Environmental Protection Agency, the Food and Drug Administration, and the health departments of most states have not published advisories or reference doses on mercury in fish, for nebulous reasons. Over the past 30 years, the level of mercury that we know is associated with a harmful effect has declined significantly, as has the regulatory standard for . . .

Volatile mercury was produced de novo by mouse tissue homogenates that contained mercuric ions. Ethanol stimulated the release of tissue mercury into the vapor phase, and the mechanism appears to be an inhibition of reoxidation of volatile mercury. Components responsible for mercury volatilization are heat-labile. The highest volatilizing activity in the liver is associated with the soluble fraction obtained after centrifugation at 105,000g.