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On a Mercury High

If you eat fish, chances are you have mercury in your body. You might not notice it, but if you are thinking about having children, you might want to pay attention.

A study in 2006 found one in five U.S. women of childbearing years carried mercury contamination levels that exceed the Environmental Protection Agency’s recommended limit of one microgram per gram of hair. While the women might not feel any different, their children are at risk for neurological damage and other health problems.

Mercury exposure has been linked to autism and other central nervous problems in children. The biggest source of mercury exposure in this country is through emissions from coal-burning power plants, though exposures are not usually directly linked to breathing those emissions. Mercury flows out of dirty power plants and settles in lakes, streams and oceans, where it ultimately becomes concentrated in fish and shellfish. It’s when we eat these fish that human exposure levels climb.

Babies don’t have to eat the fish to become exposed, however. It happens when their mothers have mercury in their bodies from eating fish before or during pregnancy. Women who are pregnant or considering becoming pregnant are asked to limit their consumption of fish, particularly in order to reduce exposure. Because their smaller body weight makes them extra vulnerable to toxins, children should also limit their consumption of mercury-tainted fish.

To find out more about this study, click here.

For advice on which fish contain the highest levels of mercury, click here.

To read more about this and other environmental health issues, go to: www.environmentalhealthnews.org, www.ourstolenfuture.org, or www.healthandenvironment.org