Main Points Presented In the Articles
Mercury is one of the deadliest toxins to human health according to the research done by Martin & Griswold, (2009). When the toxin finds its way to the human brain, it results in nervous breakdown. It hinders effective blood flow by clogging the blood vessels, and the brain is unable to get enough oxygen. Mercury also causes damage to the kidneys and developing a fetus. There are short-term effects of exposure to mercury such as an increase in blood pressure, eye irritation, and lung damage.
According to Sunderland & Mason, (2007), mercury in the oceans destroys the marine life and once it finds its way to the land; it has adverse effects to human beings. The mercury finds its way to the environment such as through using the ocean water for daily needs of water. When it is consumed, it destroys the kidney and the lungs.
Delegate your assignment to our experts and they will do the rest.
Possible Sources of Human Exposure to Mercury
Mercury is an element found in the crust of the earth. The element cannot be created or destroyed by human beings. Mercury is used in making various light bulbs, thermometers, and switches. It means that people deal with it and if not handled in the right way, it can be released in the environment. In the lab thermometers, for example, when students break the thermometers, they can end up touching the mercury without suspecting. Mercury is found in rocks such as coal, and when burnt, it is released into the environment. Power plants dealing with burning coals are recognized as the largest emitters of mercury. Mercury found in the air settles on land or water. It is then converted to methylmercury by certain microorganisms, which is a highly toxic substance found in animals and fish consumed by human beings.
What Happens When Mercury Enters the Environment?
Inorganic mercury made of both the inorganic mercury compounds and metallic mercury finds its way to the air from coal burning, mining from the ore deposits and manufacturing plants. Mercury finds its way from the volcanic activity, waste disposes, or natural disposes to the water and soil. There are some bacteria able to convert the mercury on the land and in water to methylmercury (Martin & Griswold, 2009). The toxic substance is then able to build up on the tissues of fish. It can also build up in some plants and crops. In the buildings that are poorly-ventilated and there are no indoor spaces, elementary mercury can be inhaled with air as mercury vapor.
Persistency of Mercury
Mercury cannot be destroyed or created, thus making it very persistent in the environment. At room temperature, the element can vaporize easily which means it cannot be collected and stored safely to avoid human contact. Once it has vaporized, it can be inhaled without the knowledge of human beings. Mercury exists in different forms such as methylmercury, metallic mercury, inorganic mercury compounds and organic compounds (Sunderland & Mason, 2007). These forms increase the chances of the element persistence in the environment. Mercury is considered as an element with problems because it has long-range atmospheric transportation. The element has the ability to bioaccumulate in the ecosystem, thus persisting enough to cause harm to human beings.
Federal Government's Recommendations for Protecting Human Health from Mercury
The government works alongside the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to ensure the protection of people from toxic substances in the environment. EPA is in charge of identification of the most affected hazardous waste sites in a country. The sites are then listed in the National Priorities List and then presented to the federal government as targets for cleanup activities. The current National Priorities List indicates mercury as number 714 of 1467 sites; it shows that there is a lot of mercury in the environment which the federal government should clean up and reduce the effects to human health (Friis, 2012). The Public Health Statement indicates the factors which determine whether an individual will be harmed on exposure to the toxic element. The factors are the dose of exposure, the duration and the method in which an individual came into exposure.
Perspectives of Other Authors
Other authors determine not only the effects of exposure to mercury on human beings but also to the ecosystem. Mercury exists in the food chain, which means it is shared from animals which are then consumed by human beings. Some of the effects determined in the ecosystem are such as affecting the predatory mammals and adverse effects on the reproduction of birds (Carruth & Goldstein, 2013). Once mercury has been inhaled, it causes effects to the immune system, nervous and digestive system. The kidneys and the lungs may also fail at any time. Other authors have written about the environmental laws which deal with the safe handling of toxic substances such as mercury.
Conclusion
Mercury is harmful to the health of human beings. It can be inhaled or finds its way to the bloodstream through the skin. There are regulations guiding the company and individuals who handle the element. They are meant to reduce the effects such as nervous, kidney and lung failure.
References
Carruth, R. S., & Goldstein, B. D. (2013). Environmental health law: An introduction. Somerset, NJ: Wiley.
Friis, R. H. (2012). The Praeger handbook of environmental health. Santa Barbara, CA: Praeger.
Martin, S., & Griswold, W. (2009). Human health effects of heavy metals. Environmental Science and Technology briefs for citizens, 15, 1-6.
Sunderland, E. M., & Mason, R. P. (2007). Human impacts on open ocean mercury concentrations. Global biogeochemical cycles, 21(4).
