Methylmercury

Basic chemical description

"Methylmercury" is a shorthand for monomethylmercury, and is more correctly "monomethylmercuric cation". It is composed of a methyl covalent bond. More than one cysteine moiety may coordinate with methylmercury^[1] and methylmercury may migrate to other metal-binding sites in proteins.^[2]

Sources of methylmercury

Environmental sources

In the past times, methylmercury was produced directly and indirectly as part of several industrial processes such as the manufacture of anaerobic organisms that live in aquatic systems including lakes, rivers, wetlands, sediments, soils and the open ocean.

Dietary sources

Because methylmercury is formed in aquatic systems and because it is not readily eliminated from organisms it is biomagnified in aquatic food chains from bacteria, to plankton, through macroinvertebrates, to herbivorous fish and to piscivorous (fish-eating) fish. At each step in the food chain the concentration of methylmercury in the organism increases. The concentration of methylmercury in the top level aquatic predators can reach a level a million times higher than the level in the water. Organisms, including humans, fish-eating birds, and fish eating mammals such as otters and whales that consume fish from the top of the aquatic food chain receive the methylmercury that has accumulated through this process. Fish and other aquatic species are the only significant source of human methylmercury exposure.

The concentration of mercury in any given fish depends on the species of fish, the age and size of the fish and the type of water body in which it is found. In general, fish-eating fish such as shark, swordfish, marlin, larger species of tuna, walleye, largemouth bass, and chain pickerel have higher levels of methylmercury than herbivorous fish such as tilapia, trout, and herring. Within a given species of fish, older and larger fish have higher levels of methylmercury than smaller fish. Fish that develop in water bodies that are more half-life in human blood of about 50 days.

Biological impact

Ingested methylmercury is readily and completely absorbed by the gastrointestinal tract. It is mostly found complexed with free cysteine and with proteins and blood-brain barrier and across the placenta, where it is absorbed by the developing fetus. Because of this mimicry and its strong binding to proteins methylmercury is not readily eliminated.

Several studies indicate that methylmercury is linked to subtle developmental deficits in children exposed in-utero such as loss of IQ points, and decreased performance in tests of language skills, memory function and attention deficits. Methylmercury exposure in adults has also been linked to increased risk of cardiovascular disease including heart attack. Some evidence also suggests that methylmercury can cause autoimmune effects in sensitive individuals. However, to date, methylmercury has not been linked to any specific neurologic or autoimmune disease. Although there is no doubt that methylmercury is toxic in several respects, including through exposure of the developing fetus, there is still some controversy as to the levels of methylmercury in the diet that can result in adverse effects.

There have been several episodes in which large numbers of people were severely poisoned by food contaminated with high levels of methylmercury, notably the dumping of industrial waste that resulted in the Basra poison grain disaster). These episodes resulted in neurologic symptoms including paresthesias, loss of physical coordination, difficulty in speech, narrowing of the visual field, hearing impairment, blindness, and death. Children who had been exposed in-utero through their mothers' ingestion were also affected with a range of symptoms including motor difficulties, sensory problems and mental retardation.

At present, exposures of this magnitude are rarely seen and are confined to isolated incidents. Accordingly, concern over methylmercury pollution is currently focused on more subtle effects that may be linked to levels of exposure presently seen in populations with high to moderate levels of dietary fish consumption. These effects are not necessarily identifiable on an individual level or may not be uniquely recognizable as due to methylmercury. However, such effects may be detected by comparing populations with different levels of exposure.

Many governmental agencies, notably the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Health Canada and the European Union Health and Consumer Protection Directorate-General as well as the World Health Organization (WHO) and the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) have issued guidance for fish consumers that is designed to limit methylmercury exposure from fish consumption. At present, most of this guidance is based on protection of the developing fetus, however, future guidance may also address cardiovascular risk. In general, fish consumption advice attempts to convey the message that fish is a good source of nutrition and has significant health benefits, but that consumers, particularly pregnant women, women planning to become pregnant, nursing mothers and young children, should avoid fish with high levels of methylmercury, limit their intake of fish with moderate levels of methylmercury, and consume fish with low levels of methylmercury no more than twice a week.^[6][7]

See also

• methyl group
• ethylmercury related compound
• Mercury poisoning
• Minamata disease

References

1. ^ Govindaswamy, N.; J. Moy & M. Millar et al. (1992), Inorg. Chem. 26: 5343
2. ^ Erni, I. & G. Geier (1979), Helv. Chim. Acta 62: 1007
3. ^ Tewalt, S. J.; L. J. Bragg & R. B. Finkelman (2005), , (Online Version 1.0 ed.), U.S. Geological Survey, . Retrieved on January 12, 2006
4. ^ Kerper, L.E.; N. Ballatori & T.W. Clarkson (1992), " ", Am. J. Physiol. 262 (5 Pt. 2): R761–R765,
5. ^ Myers, G. J.; P. W. Davidson & B. Weiss (2004), " ", SMDJ Seychelles Medical and Dental Journal 7 (Special Issue): 132-133, . Retrieved on January 12, 2006
6. ^ Information on characteristic levels of methylmercury by species can be found at http://www.cfsan.fda.gov/~frf/sea-mehg.html
7. ^ a wallet-card guide for consumers can be found at http://www.nrdc.org/health/effects/mercury/protect.asp