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| There is growing concern that women and children are extremely susceptible to harm from exposure to mercury. |
Mercury Does Not Affect Everyone Equally
There is growing concern that women and children are extremely susceptible to harm from exposure to mercury. Children who are born to women with high mercury levels face an increased risk of cognitive and developmental damage. 1
Studies Show Dangers of Mercury in Women, Children
In 2000, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention performed a study that looked at blood samples from more than two thousand women of childbearing age. It found that 8 percent of the women had mercury blood levels exceeding the level deemed safe for unborn children by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)2 . More research, reported in 2004 by the EPA, concluded that unborn children have much higher levels of mercury in their blood than their mothers do. As a result of these findings, EPA had to double the number of babies it estimated were born each year with unsafe levels of mercury to 630,000.3
Mercury in Our Seafood
In March 2004, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the EPA issued a joint warning to pregnant women, women who may become pregnant, and nursing mothers against eating certain kinds of fish that may contain harmful mercury. Additionally, they advise the same group of women to consume no more than 12 ounces (2-3 meals) of fish and shellfish per week and to vary the kinds of fish that they eat.4 In the United States, 45 states and territories have fish consumption warnings because of unsafe levels of mercury in at least some of their waters.5
Mercury and Men
While the ill health effects of mercury are often associated with women and children, eating fish high in mercury has also been found to put middle-aged men at a greater risk for coronary heart disease and may offset the protective effects of omega-3 fatty acids in some seafood. The findings, published in by the American Hearth Association in November 2004, show that men with the highest levels of mercury in their hair had a 60 percent increased risk of an acute coronary event and a nearly 70 percent increased risk of cardiovascular death compared with men with lower mercury levels6 .
Are There Fish Advisories Near You?
Using the EPA's Fish Advisories site, you can locate current advisories on fish in your area.
Citations
- National Academy of Sciences, "Toxicology Effects of Methylmercury," (2000).
- Second National Report on Human Exposure to Environmental Chemicals, (January, 2003).
- U.S. EPA, Methylmercury: Epidemiology Update, Presentation by Kathryn Mahaffey, PhD at the National Forum on Contaminants in Fish, San Diego, CA (January 25-28, 2004)
- U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services and U.S. EPA, "What you need to know about Mercury in Fish and Shellfish," EPA-823-R-04-005 (March 2004)
- U.S. EPA, Office of Water, "Update: National Listing of Fish and Wildlife Advisories," EPA-823-F-03-003, (May 2003)
- "Mercury, Fish Oils, and Risk of Acute Coronary Events and Cardiovascular Disease, Coronary Heart Disease, and All-Cause Mortality in Men in Eastern Finland" published by American Heart Association (November 11, 2004).
- Second National Report on Human Exposure to Environmental Chemicals, (January, 2003).
Photo: Sierra Club collection; all rights reserved.
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