What is methylmercury and why is it such a concern in aquatic environments?
Mercury is found in the environment as a result of natural and human activities. The amount of mercury that cycles in the environment has increased since the industrial age. The main source of mercury is air emissions from power generation and other industrial and waste disposal activities. During its movement among the atmosphere, land, and water, mercury undergoes a series of complex chemical transformations. One of the products of these transformations is an organic form called methylmercury. Methylmercury is easily absorbed into the living tissue of aquatic organisms and is not easily eliminated. Therefore, it accumulates in predators. The degree to which mercury is transformed into methylmercury and transferred up the food chain through bioaccumulation depends on many site-specific factors (such as water chemistry and the complexity of the food web) through processes that are not completely understood. Most attention toward mercury pollution has focused on methylmercury because it
