Health effects of mercury deserve more attention.
An article in Reuters that discusses U.S. EPA’s new mercury regulations is too brief on the health effects of mercury.
In a July 25 Reuters article, Timothy Gardner does an excellent job of discussing the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s proposed rule on mercury and its implications for the Obama administration’s 2020 climate goals.
However, his discussion of health effects linked to mercury was too brief. Readers would be better informed if he had provided more information about mercury toxicity.
Gardner primarily focuses on developmental effects resulting from children being exposed through eating contaminated fish or mother’s milk.
He does not mention that the fetus is most susceptible to mercury exposure. Mercury exposure can occur in the womb when the mother eats contaminated fish or shellfish, since mercury from the mother’s diet can be transferred directly to the fetus and affect the growing brain and nervous system. Indeed, impacts on cognitive thinking, memory, attention and language have been seen in children exposed to mercury in the womb.
He also misses the opportunity to educate readers about the health effects of mercury exposure to adults. While he briefly mentions that “adults who eat too many of the fish also face risks,” he does not provide details on what types of risks. Mercury exposure in adults, particularly adult men, is linked to cardiovascular problems such as increased risks of high blood pressure, heart attacks and death from heart disease.
Fully discussing the public health impacts of mercury exposure across the population is important because it helps to provide readers with a deeper understanding of the societal benefits that can be gained through regulation that controls mercury emissions from power plants.
