What are the health effects of exposure to methylmercury, the form of mercury that is of most concern?
A wide range of adverse health effects have been observed in humans following methylmercury exposure, the severity largely depending on the magnitude of the dose and the duration of exposure. The predominant health affects in humans are associated with the impaired functions of the central and peripheral nervous systems. For example, elevated methylmercury exposure in a fetus or young child can cause a decrease in I.Q., delays in walking and talking, lack of coordination, blindness, and seizures. In adults, excessive methylmercury exposure can lead to personality changes, tremors, changes in vision, deafness, loss of muscle coordination and sensation, memory loss, intellectual impairment, and, in very extreme cases, even death. Do long-term, low exposures to methylmercury have different health effects than short-term, high exposures? Unlike short-term, high exposures to methylmercury, long-term (chronic) methylmercury exposure at low doses among adults may not result in readily observa
