Mercury Mobility Produces Deadly Neurotoxin Methylmercury
Mercury is ubiquitous, naturally occurring, and persistent exposure can cause acute and chronic intoxication at low levels of exposure
Mercury Emissions: The Global Context
The BIODIVERSITY RESEARCH INSTITUTE (bri) data presented here emphasize the global distribution of marine and freshwater fish, sea turtles, seabirds and other avian species that forage in coastal areas, and marine mammals. Thresholds shown are for human health dietary purposes, except for birds which reflect reproductive harm.
Mercury ("Hg") is a deadly neurotoxin that our own human bacteria, and environmental anaerobic microbes in water transforms to Methylmercury ("MeHg"), the deadliest form of Hg that kills all aquatic biota, and with unknown biomagnification effects.
Hg and MeHg both bioaccumulate in fish, shellfish, and animals that eat fish. Most human exposure to mercury is from eating fish and shellfish contaminated with MeHg, both in the United States and worldwide.
Hg is a deadly neurotoxin documented in 2021 by the University of Oxford earth scientists to stay airborne up to one year.
The UN Environment has classified mercury as a neuro-, nephro-, and immunotoxic used in gold mining as a global pollutant, bio-accumulating, mainly through the aquatic food chain, resulting in a serious health hazard for children, especially the development of the child in utero, and early in life is at particular risk.
The WHO (World Health Organization) considers Hg as one of the top ten chemicals or groups of chemicals of major public health concern on the Planet. Most ASG miners suffer from undiagnosed Hg poisoning.
"Women of childbearing age around world suffering toxic levels of mercury. Study finds excessive levels of the metal, which can seriously harm unborn children, in women from Alaska to Indonesia, due to gold mining, industrial pollution and, fish-rich diets."
According to the environmental-health organization IPEN, new research shows “island territories around the world are drowning in Hg pollution that has leeched deep into their coastlines, and could last generations.
757 women of childbearing age from 24 locations in 21 countries participated in this study. 58% of the women who participated had mercury levels greater than 1 part per million ("ppm")—the level that approximately corresponds to the US EPA reference level.
75% of women had mercury levels greater than 0.58 ppm mercury, a more recent, science-based threshold based on data indicating harmful effects at lower levels of exposure. Mercury is a health threat to women and the developing fetus.
Mercury-dependent ASGM is the Planet's largest Anthropogenic [man-caused] source of mercury ("Hg") pollution, deadly neurotoxin primarily due to India and China's ever growing Au demand for jewelry gold ("Au"), and consumer demand for electronics Au.
Approximately 20 million impoverished ASG miners including ~ 4.5 million women and ~ 600,000 children under the age of 15 all largely having undiagnosed Hg poisoning directly impact 100 (one-hundred) million people in 80 (eighty) Countries form their use, and misuse of deadly neurotoxin Hg in Au-ore processing to produce ~ 20% of the World's Au supply for jewelry and electronics Au discharging Hg to the Calera and Amarillo rivers, and vaporizing Hg to our biosphere creating deadly Hg pollution for a meager pittance of several dollars per day.
According to the Journal of Health & Pollution, ASG miners typically use 500 grams of Hg to recover 1.5 grams of Au with the excess Hg being vaporized to the biosphere, and discharged with contaminated toxic chemical tailings waste sludge containing 5 – 10 grams of Au per ton after being rinsed with cyanide ("CN") only to recover less than 10% of the waste Hg-flour Au.
When ASG miners spew their Hg-CN tailings waste sludge containing other toxic metals into the environment, the Hg becomes part of the food chain and micro-organisms transform it to Methylmercury ("MeHg"), a powerful and more deadly neurotoxin that bioaccumulates in shellfish and fish, and is readily absorbed by biological tissue, and more toxic to humans and wildlife alike at low doses than elemental Hg, and which poses developmental, hormonal, & neurological threats to both humans & wildlife.
High level exposure to Methylmercury is known as Minamata disease previously, Chisso-Minamata Disease, strange disease, sauntering disease, ominously, “dancing cat disease”.