Mark Wheeler's Focus article, "Measuring Mercury" (1), which appeared in the August 1996 issue of EHP, contained a serious omission. Wheeler concentrated on methyl mercury and, to a lesser extent, elemental mercury in dental amalgams. He failed to mention the relatively recently described but extremely significant exposures to elemental mercury in ethnically Hispanic and Caribbean homes, conseq...

Mark Wheeler's Focus article, "Measuring Mercury" (1), which appeared in the August 1996 issue of EHP, contained a serious omission. Wheeler concentrated on methyl mercury and, to a lesser extent, elemental mercury in dental amalgams. He failed to mention the relatively recently described but extremely significant exposures to elemental mercury in ethnically Hispanic and Caribbean homes, conseq...

Mercury has been a known as a toxic substance for centuries. Whilst the clinical features of acute mercury poisoning have been well described, chronic low dose exposure to mercury remains poorly characterised and its potential role in various chronic disease states remains controversial. Low molecular weight thiols, i.e. sulfhydryl containing molecules such as cysteine, are emerging as importan...

BACKGROUND With the fast growth in the market of fluorescent lamps, particularly compact fluorescent light, the associated risk of mercury exposure, which is an essential component in all types of fluorescent lamps, has received increasing public attention worldwide. Even low doses of mercury are toxic. OBJECTIVE To study the health consequences of occupational exposure to mercury in workers ...

Background: Dental clinics are known to be one of the largest users of Toxic inorganic mercury. It is well documented that dentists and dental assistants who work with amalgam are chronically exposed to mercury vapor. This study investigates exposure to mercury vapor in a dental clinic. Methods: GBC cold vapor atomic absorption spectrometry (AAS), using sodium borohydride as the reducing age...

background: dental clinics are known to be one of the largest users of toxic inorganic mercury. it is well documented that dentists and dental assistants who work with amalgam are chronically exposed to mercury vapor. this study investigates exposure to mercury vapor in a dental clinic. methods: gbc cold vapor atomic absorption spectrometry (aas), using sodium borohydride as the reducing agent,...

OBJECTIVES A cross sectional survey of dentists in the west of Scotland and unmatched controls was conducted to find the effect of chronic exposure to mercury on health and cognitive functioning. METHODS 180 dentists were asked to complete a questionnaire that included items on handling of amalgam, symptoms experienced, possible influences on psychomotor function, and the 12 item general heal...

This review explores the different aspects of constitutional factors in early life that modulate toxicokinetics and toxicodynamics of low-dose mercury resulting from acute ethylmercury (etHg) exposure in Thimerosal-containing vaccines (TCV). Major databases were searched for human and experimental studies that addressed issues related to early life exposure to TCV. It can be concluded that: a) ...

OBJECTIVE The objective of this study was to quantify the relationship between number of dental amalgam surfaces and urinary mercury levels. METHODS This study uses participant data from a large philanthropic chronic disease prevention program in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Urine samples were analysed for mercury levels (measured in μg/g-creatinine). T-tests were used to determine if difference...

INTRODUCTION Mercury intoxication is a widespread problem as mercury is used in the manufacture of thermometers, batteries and electrical switches. It forms one of the most diffusible environmental pollutants. Mercury has a nephrotoxic effect which could occur at low exposure levels. Verapamil could help in the treatment of mercuric toxicity. The aim of the study was to examine the protective a...