Mercury posing a new threat

mercuryMercury has been a long time problem that scientist are still trying to solve. Researchers have found an increase in Mercury levels in bodies of water. They found dangerously high levels of mercury in wildlife. This led many to worry about the health of humans when the consumed these animals. Although this is a growing problem, we have not found a solution. Some researchers say they might know who to point fingers at for this increase in Mercury.

So why is it so important that we don’t consume Mercury?  Mercury can have can massive effect on humans. Mercury can affect the central nervous system and damage the brain. It’s especially important that pregnant women do not eat food containing Mercury. Mercury could potentially damage their baby’s brain. Mercury can also be deadly. In the 1950’s, in Japan a neurological epidemic killed thousands of people and caused mental retardation in babies. Little did they know that this was from the Mercury in the fish. With Mercury on the up rise, it must be stopped before it becomes too deadly.

Mercury pollution is having a massive affect. Its been a posing a new threat in the ocean. Researchers say that the levels of mercury have tripled in shallow parts of the ocean. This could pose a major threat to humans and sea life. The data set the researchers collected is the first time a group has done research in major ocean areas. The researchers found that the ocean contains about 60,000 and 80,00 tons of mercury. The researchers suggest the rise could have been due to mercury mines, the atmosphere, and human activities. They still haven’t been able to pin point the major affect. The researchers say that there are still gaps to fill.

Scientist are all scrambling to solve the mystery of mercury before it’s all too late. Some say the pollution is due to companies dumping it into bodies of water. Others claim its coming from the atmosphere. A researcher, Dave Krabbenhoft , has been dedicated to solving this growing problem. Krabbenhoft found that mercury contamination in lake Wisconsin was due to the atmosphere and not from the ground or the end of a pipe. He also found links between power plants emissions and the rise of mercury levels in fish. Krabbenhofts research was crucial step to further research in mercury contamination.

Although researchers still haven’t found the main cause for this up rise, they have defiantly come closer to the answers. Due to recent technology, finding out about mercury contamination has been easier than ever. Its important that we find a way to stop mercury contamination. If we don’t control this outbreak of mercury, the lives of many people and animals could be threatened.

  • How can we do further research on Mercury contamination?
  • Do you think Mercury could pose a major threat?
  • What do you think will happen if Mercury contamination isn’t stopped?

12 thoughts on “Mercury posing a new threat

  1. I found this post very informative and helpful. Before I read this blog I didn’t really know what mercury was and why so many people were concerned about it. I learned from http://www.webmd.com/food-recipes/avoiding-mercury-in-fish-topic-overview that the mercury levels in most fish isn’t dangerous to most people. However, the FDA says that these levels can be dangerous in pregnant women, women who are nursing and young children. These people should try to avoid foods like shark and swordfish. Some sea foods that are low in mercury include shrimp, salmon and catfish.

  2. I found this post very informative. Before I read this blog I didn’t really know what mercury was and why so many people were concerned about it. I learned from http://www.webmd.com/food-recipes/avoiding-mercury-in-fish-topic-overview that the mercury levels in most fish isn’t dangerous to most people. However, the FDA says that these levels can be dangerous in pregnant women, women who are nursing and young children. These people should try to avoid foods like shark and swordfish. Some sea foods that are low in mercury include shrimp, salmon and catfish.

  3. i found this post very interesting. i have known about mercury for a while, seeing it in many you tube videos that i watch, but i didnt know that the problems that come along with it are this severe. i did a little bit of research, ( http://www.rsc.org/periodic-table/element/80/mercury ) and found that mercury is about 13 times denser than water. it also used to be used in many commercial items including: chlorine, batteries, and even lights. but is now being ruled out due to health hazards. again, thank you for teaching me about mercury.

  4. I thought that this post was very eye opening about the contamination levels of mercury in the ocean. In the link below I found a reason why mercury is so bad for us. When it enters our body it acts as a neurotoxin, which is harmful to the brain and nervous system. It also talks about how most of the mercury pollution comes from coal-fired power plants and other industrial processes. Recently the Environmental Protection Agency finalized a clean-air safeguard to reduce toxic air pollution, which includes mercury, from power plants. They hope that with these that they could reduce tons of mercury. Mercury doesn’t just save in one place., mercury released halfway across the globe can end up polluting your waters in your own environment.
    http://www.nrdc.org/health/effects/mercury/

  5. I like this topic, because it is very controversial. A lot of people blame others for it and some just say it is no one’s fault in particular. One thing I discovered on another site was that the mercury cannot be taken out of fish that we eat. It gets dissolved into the muscle (what we eat) instead of the fat. So unless you want to eat some other part of the fish, which could still probably put you at risk, you are ingesting mercury that could kill you.

    http://www.sustainablehospitals.org/HTMLSrc/IP_Merc_Why.html

  6. I found the idea that when we pollute chemicals into our environments that it harms us also, quite intriguing. I found that other things that we pollute our environments come back to bite us such as plastic, and in the worst place our health. When we dump plastics into the ocean it often collects into big swirling piles/islands of trash. The most famous of which, the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. Now I am Shure you are wondering, how in the world does this affect our health. Well it all starts with the smallest of fish that in the ocean eat out trash/plastics. when bigger fish eat them they get their plastic too. These fish also mistakenly eat the plastic as prey and get an even higher plastic content in their bodies. This little cycle repeats its self until the animals at the top of the sea food chain have such a high plastics content in their bodies that they may even be considered toxic. I find the concept that our putative ways come back to harm us quite similar to the concept of Karma. To see where I got my information about plastics in out sea food go to:
    http://www.theguardian.com/vital-signs/2015/feb/12/science-plastic-oceans-study-fish-pollution-worse

  7. I really loved your blog. I thought that the information was well put together and it helped to understand more about mercury pollution and the problem that it causes. To answer some of your questions, I think that Mercury pollution is a big problem. In an article that I read, it said that it can cause serious damage to human and animal life’s nervous system. It also said that it’s even more dangerous to woman that are breast feeding and even to young children. The mercury in their bodies slows down their development. In the same article I read, it said what some of the effects are on the wildlife. It said that birds are laying fewer eggs and mammals are being impaired which affects the way they hunt. With this information, I feel that if mercury doesn’t get taken care of, then animals will become instinct. http://www.nwf.org/Wildlife/Threats-to-Wildlife/Pollutants/Mercury-and-Air-Toxics.aspx

  8. This blog was very helpful in explaining why mercury is dangerous. Mercury is a toxic metal that targets and attacks the CNS By doing further research, I found out that mercury can lead to nervous disorders, cancer, kidney damage, respiratory failure, and in extreme cases, death. There are three chemical forms; methylmercury, elemental mercury, and other mercury compounds (inorganic and organic). To back the information of this blog further, child are more prone to being injured by mercury because of their developing bodies. There have been requirements made to help lower women and children’s exposure to mercury such as reducing child labor.
    http://www.hrw.org/dangers-of-mercury

  9. I honestly had no idea that mercury was so bad for us. It is crazy that the ocean has up to 80,000 tons of mercury in it. It is horrible that big companies are just dumping their waste into the ocean with no remorse and now we have a mercury problem. We need to control this before it hurts any more people or fish. If it isn’t stopped there may be lots of sickness. I found this website: http://www.nwf.org/Wildlife/Threats-to-Wildlife/Pollutants/Mercury-and-Air-Toxics.aspx with more info on the threats of mercury poisoning.

  10. I really like this topic since I agree that mercury is posing a huge threat to our environment and eventually, our own health. According to http://www.rodalenews.com/mercury-pollution-and-exposure , the five biggest sources of mercury pollution are coal-fired power plants, cement kilns, chlor-alkali plants, trash incinerators, and gold mining. Considering the huge amount of mercury produced by only these five sources per year (which reaches hundreds of tons), mercury can certainly pose a major threat globally. As what you have noted before, mercury can spread from the sea to seafood that we consume and also from atmosphere to our drinking water. Worst of all, according to http://www.epa.gov/mercury/effects.htm , some types of mercury can be inhaled without us even knowing it. In my opinion, if mercury contamination is not stopped, soon enough, we will deal with a global mercury poisoning.

  11. This article was surprising to me because I learned a lot of new information about mercury. I never know it was so dangerous for us, because it can damage our brains severely if too much is digested. Actually, about 80% of inhaled mercury is absorbed by the lung tissues. This can cause tremors, insomnia, headaches, and even memory loss. Mercury can also damage the kidneys because it is an inorganic compound that is unable to be removed. Overall, I now know much more about mercury because of this blog post and am thankful because I can watch out for it now.
    http://www.greenfacts.org/en/mercury/l-3/mercury-2.htm#1p2

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