Mercury is a naturally-occurring element. The simplest form of mercury is metallic, or liquid, mercury. It is used in a number of products sold commercially, as well as in some medical devices and industrial processes. While this form of mercury is not readily absorbed into the human body by touch or through the digestive tract, it does vaporize at room temperatures and inhalation of these vapors can be harmful to your health. If spilled, metallic mercury can pose a danger to human life and can damage certain commercial equipment.
What is metallic mercury?
Mercury is a naturally occurring metal. It is the only metal on earth which is liquid at room temperatures. Metallic mercury is the pure form of mercury. It is a shiny, silver-white, odorless liquid, much heavier than water. Metallic mercury is used in oral thermometers, barometers, sphygmomanometers (devices used to test blood pressure), wall thermostats for heating and cooling, fluorescent light bulbs/tubes, some batteries, electric light switches, some indoor gas meter regulators (in houses built before the 1960's), and for a variety of other purposes. It is also used in some ethnic religious and cultural practices, and is the form of mercury that is commonly used in middle and high school chemistry labs. Metallic mercury is the form of mercury that many adults remember rubbing on coins as children to make them shine; and it is because of this practice that many people do not realize the true danger of being exposed to metallic mercury. It is truly a "wolf in sheep's clothing."
How can mercury enter my body?
Metallic mercury is absorbed into the body primarily by breathing the airborne vapors. Metallic mercury cannot go through intact skin very well, so touching the beads is less of a problem than breathing the vapors. If you swallow the metal mercury (which is certainly not recommended), it passes through your body almost completely without being absorbed. Therefore, in almost all circumstances, breathing the mercury vapors in the air is the only real source of entry of metallic mercury into the human body.
How can metallic mercury affect my health?
The nervous system is sensitive to metallic mercury. Exposure to very high levels of metallic mercury vapor can cause brain, kidney, and lung damage and may seriously harm a developing fetus. Exposure to mercury vapor concentrations high enough to produce such serious effects might also cause coughing, chest pains, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, increases in blood pressure or heart rate, skin rashes, and eye irritation. Exposure to lower levels of airborne mercury for prolonged periods of time would produce more subtle effects, such as irritability, sleep disturbances, excessive shyness, tremors, coordination problems, changes in vision or hearing, and memory problems. Most of the effects of mercury resulting from prolonged lowerlevel exposure are reversible, once exposure is terminated and the mercury has left your body.