Mercury is uniquely both a heavy metal and a liquid at room temperature. Only three other elements are liquids at room temperature. Its atomic number is 80. Other metals near it on the Periodic Chart include silver, gold, cadmium, and lead. Gold is the only one of these that is more dense. Being both a metal and liquid had made it both useful and harmful. The usefulness has been known for centuries. The harm we are only beginning to learn.

Mercury was known in ancient China and India and was found in Egyptian tombs placed there 3500 years ago. Mercury metal comes from cinnabar, or mercury sulfide. Most of the world’s supply comes from California, Texas, Spain, and Italy. It has been used for years in sphygmomanometers, thermometers, and barometers because the column of liquid can be 13 times shorter than if it were water. The problem is that mercury, mercury vapor, and all soluble salts of mercury are extremely poisonous.

In spire of its poisonous nature, mercury has been used in a wide variety of ways. Street lights with a blue tinge are generally mercury vapor lights. Vermillion, which is really mercury sulfide, is used as a ship paint to reduce the problem of barnacles. Mercury has also been used in fluorescent lights. If they are broken indoors, the powder coming out contains enough poisonous mercury vapor to be a health risk. Mercury is also used in dental amalgams and some cosmetics though some claim no health risk has ever been proven. When the author growing up, it was common to paint mercurochrome on a wound with a glass rod to keep the wound from being infected. Today it is outlawed.

Today we are much more aware of the far reaching negative effects of heavy metals on health. In fact, these metals have no known need in the body. Their presence is nearly always negative. They get into our bodies in a variety of ways. More specific for this article, the abundant use of mercury in the past has now poisoned water, land, and seas. Mercury poisoning in fish, especially tuna and swordfish, is a problem and fish must be monitored continually.

These are a few common products containing mercury in some form. Each poses a threat to cause mercury poisoning: algaecides, body powders, calomel lotions, dental amalgams, felt, germicides, insecticides, manufacture of paper and chlorine, paper products, polluted water, skin lightening creams, and tanning leather.

These are a few of the effects of mercury poisoning on the body: allergy, anxiety, cataracts, depression, dizziness, emotional disturbances, fatigue, kidney damage, pain in limbs, suicidal tendencies, and others. These heavy metals can actually damage DNA increasing the risk of cancer.

Symptoms typically include sensory impairment (vision, hearing, speech), disturbed sensation, and a lack of coordination. This does not mean if you suffer from one or more of these that you have heavy metal poisoning. But it does mean you could be poisoned and you should see a doctor to be tested.

The number of products that either used or are using some form of mercury is frightening, is it not? So many of these, once discarded, end up in landfills only to leach their poisons into the ground water. City water systems are required to monitor for metal poisons. But if you rely on a well or spring for your drinking or cooking water, you could be in trouble!

In light of these facts, we can be glad that great efforts have been undertaken to rid us of the danger of mercury poisoning. Our immediate responsibility is to be sure that we do what we can to protect ourselves and our family from mercury poisoning, especially in our water systems. Most city water systems monitor and filter out any mercury found in the water. However, if you are on a well, or if you simply want to protect yourselves just in case, then a water filter is highly recommended. A good activated charcoal filter promises to remove 95% of any mercury or other heavy metals in the water through adsorption. The investment in such a filter may be well worth the money, just for the peace of mind it brings.