When were mercury levels in fish first discovered to be a risk to humans?
We understand the toxicity and the dangers of mercury in fish from the epidemiology study of populations of people who eat a lot of fish. So for example, there is an island off of Europe called the Faroe Islands. The offspring of women there, who ate a lot fish during pregnancy, experienced six month delays in learining in school. They were about six months behind everyone else in terms of academic achievement in the Faroe Islands school system. Some populations of people are actually less affected by mercury in fish. It may be because of the kinds of fish they’re eating. For example, there’s another island off of India that’s been heavily studied, called the Seychelles Islands. Those people have less effects from mercury in fish. However, we here in the United States probably are in between those two populations and there is evidence that we are also affected and our children’s brain development is affected by fish levels of mercury.
