Even more reason to clamp down on the mercury spewed by coal-fired power plants and other sources.
Mercury, like lead, ruins brains.
Virtually all inland lakes in Michigan and Minnesota has a health advisory cautioning against eating too much fish caught in them.
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Scientists have long known that people like Pugliese who eat lots of fish tend to have higher mercury levels in their bodies, but it's only recently that the seriousness of the public health problem has become widely recognized.
Some scientists are calling mercury "the new lead." As with lead, the more scientists study mercury, the more they find subtle damage to the brain at lower and lower levels of exposure.
It also appears that so many people carry mercury contamination in their bodies, the pollutant may be impairing the intelligence and brain functioning of the population at large. And, as with lead, brain damage from mercury is permanent.
Most at risk is the developing fetus. The EPA estimates that one in every six children born in the United States _ about 630,000 children annually _ is exposed in the womb to mercury levels that exceed the current safety level. This places children at risk for an average IQ loss of 1.5 points, learning disabilities and other cognitive impairments.
Even that number may be an underestimate. Dr. Philippe Grandjean, an adjunct professor at the Harvard School of Public Health who has studied the effects of prenatal mercury exposure for nearly two decades, said the EPA should consider cutting in half the amount of mercury it estimates a person can safely ingest each day.
http://www.shns.com/shns/g_index2.cfm?action=detail&pk=CHILDMERCURY-01-26-05
If the link doesn't work, go to the link below and in the search function, type in "mercury."
http://www.shns.com/shns/g_index2.cfm?action=home
Posted by Dave at January 27, 2005 07:00 PM