Table Of ContentMercury Hazards to Living Organisms
© 2006 by Taylor & Francis Group, LLC
Mercury Hazards
to Living Organisms
Ronald Eisler
© 2006 by Taylor & Francis Group, LLC
Published in 2006 by
CRC Press
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Eisler, Ronald, 1932-
Mercury hazards to living organisms / Ronald Eisler
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 0-8493-9212-8 (alk. paper)
1. Mercury--Environmental aspects. I. Title.
QH545.M4E37 2005
577.27’5663--dc22 2005055900
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Dedication
This book is dedicated to my family:
Jeannette, Renée, David, Charles, Julie, and Eb.
© 2006 by Taylor & Francis Group, LLC
Preface
To appreciate the complexities of the element mercury, it is enlightening to review the role of
Mercury — the god — in Greek, Roman, and Celtic mythology. Both the element and the
mythological god assume complex and ever-changing forms and functions.
In Greek mythology, for example, at the height of Aegean civilization around 1600 BCE,
Mercury (or Hermes as the Greeks called him) was known as the god of shepherds and animal
fertility (Aldington and Ames, 1968). Later, he was known as the god of travelers, whom he guided
on their perilous ways. Mercury’s images were placed at crossroads and at forks in the road. A
natural extension of this role is that Mercury was also charged with conducting the souls of the
dead to the underworld. In primitive times, voyages were usually made for commercial purposes;
Mercury was consequently the god of profit — both lawful and unlawful — and the god of games
of chance. Because traders required subtle and persuasive words, Mercury also became the god of
eloquence. To these various functions, Mercury added that of messenger to Zeus. Not surprisingly,
this runner to the gods was honored by athletes and to him was attributed the invention of boxing
and racing. The classic aspect of Mercury (Hermes) is that of an athlete god. The early Greeks
portrayed him as a mature man with a thick, long beard, his hair bound with a ribbon and falling
in curls to his shoulders. Later, he was represented as a young gymnast, with a lithe, graceful body.
His hair at that time was short and crisp, and his features fine. He often wore a round, winged
hat — a petasus — and on his feet were winged sandals. In his hand he holds a winged staff —
a caduceus — around which serpents are entwined. In Roman mythology, the name Mercury is
connected with the root merx (merchandise) and mercari (to deal, trade). The Roman Mercury
appeared about 500 BCE and was exclusively the god of merchants. To portray him, Roman artists
drew upon representations of Hermes, portraying him as beardless with a caduceus, a purse in his
hand, and petasus on his head. In Celtic mythology, circa 200 BCE to 800 CE, Mercury was the
most popular of all Roman gods to be adopted by the Celts, his role being that of a chieftain-type
god, the inventor of all arts, the presiding deity of commerce, and the guardian of travelers
(Aldington and Ames, 1968).
The element mercury follows a similar convoluted course. In coastal environments, for example,
where toxicological aspects of elemental mercury and mercury compounds have been extensively
reviewed and summarized (Eisler, 1981, 2000), most authorities agree on five points. First, forms
of mercury with relatively low toxicity can be transformed into forms with very high toxicity
through biological and other processes. Second, uptake of mercury directly from seawater or through
biomagnification in marine food chains returns mercury directly to humans in concentrated forms.
Third, mercury uptake may result in genetic changes. Fourth, naturally elevated levels of mercury
in some marine fishes — such as tuna, swordfish, and marlin — emphasize the complexity of both
natural mercury cycles and anthropogenic impact on those cycles. Finally, human use of mercury
needs to be curtailed because — in contrast to many other contaminants — the difference between
tolerable natural background levels of mercury and harmful effects in the environment is excep-
tionally small.
REFERENCES
Aldington, R. and D. Ames (translators). 1968. New Larousse Encyclopedia of Mythology. Hamlyn Publishers,
New York, 500 pp.
Eisler, R. 1981. Trace Metal Concentrations in Marine Organisms. Pergamon, Elmsford, NY. 687 pp.
Eisler, R. 2000. Mercury. Handbook of Chemical Risk Assessment: Health Hazards to Humans, Plants, and
Animals. Vol. 1, Metals, p. 313–409. Lewis Publishers, Boca Raton, FL.
© 2006 by Taylor & Francis Group, LLC
Acknowledgments
For expediting access to the technical literature, I thank the librarians and staff of the National
Library of Medicine in Bethesda, Maryland, and the National Agricultural Library in Beltsville,
Maryland. I am also indebted to numerous colleagues who furnished me with current reprints and
recommendations for additional technical sources. The editorial input of Gail Renard and other
Taylor & Francis staff is gratefully acknowledged.
© 2006 by Taylor & Francis Group, LLC
About the Author
Ronald Eisler received the B.A. degree from New York University in biology and chemistry, and
M.S. and Ph.D. degrees from the University of Washington. On his retirement from federal service
as a senior research biologist in 2004, he was a recognized national and international authority on
chemical risk assessment to wildlife and other natural resources. In his 45-year federal career, he
served with the U.S. Department of the Interior in New Jersey, Maryland, and Washington D.C.,
the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in Rhode Island, and the U.S. Army Medical Service
Corps in Colorado. He has conducted research and monitoring studies on pollution issues in the
Pacific Northwest, the Territory of Alaska, Colorado, the Marshall and Marianas Islands, all along
the eastern seaboard of the U.S. Atlantic coast, the Adirondacks Region of New York, the Red Sea,
and the Gulf of Mexico. Since 1955 he has authored more than 145 technical articles — including
five books and 16 book chapters — on contaminant hazards to plants, animals, and human health.
He has held several adjunct professor appointments and taught for extended periods at the Graduate
School of Oceanography of the University of Rhode Island, and the Department of Biology of
American University in Washington, D.C. He also served as Visiting Professor and Resident Director
of Hebrew University’s Marine Biology Laboratory located in Eilat, Israel. In retirement, he actively
consults and writes on chemical risk assessment.
Eisler resides in Potomac, Maryland, with his wife Jeannette, a teacher of French and Spanish.
© 2006 by Taylor & Francis Group, LLC
BOOKS BY RONALD EISLER
2004. Biogeochemical, Health, and Ecotoxicological Perspectives on Gold and Gold Mining. CRC
Press, Boca Raton, FL. 356 pp.
2000. Handbook of Chemical Risk Assessment: Health Hazards to Humans, Plants, and Animals.
Vol. 1, Metals; Vol. 2, Organics; Vol. 3, Metalloids, Radiation, Cumulative Index to Chemicals and
Species. Lewis Publishers, Boca Raton, FL. 1903 pp.
1981. Trace Metal Concentrations in Marine Organisms. Pergamon Press, Elmsford, NY. 687 pp.
© 2006 by Taylor & Francis Group, LLC
List of Tables
Table 2.1 Industrial and Other Uses of Mercury in the United States in 1959 and 1969. ..........13
Table 2.2 Amount of Mercury in Some Global Reservoirs and Residence Time. .....................14
Table 2.3 Mercury Loss (in kg) from Five Operating Chloralkali Plants in Canada between
1986 and 1989 via Wastewater, Air Emissions, Products, and Solid Wastes. ...........17
Table 3.1 Some Properties of Mercury and Its Compounds.......................................................24
Table 5.1 Contributions to Atmospheric Mercury from Natural and Anthropogenic Sources......48
Table 5.2 Mercury Concentrations in Selected Abiotic Materials..............................................48
Table 6.1 Mercury Concentrations in Field Collections of Selected Species of Plants..............63
Table 6.2 Mercury Concentrations in Field Collections of Selected Species of Invertebrates. ...65
Table 6.3 Mercury Concentrations in Field Collections of Selected Species of Sharks, Rays,
and Bony Fishes..........................................................................................................70
Table 6.4 Mercury Concentrations in Selected Species of Amphibians and Reptiles................82
Table 6.5 Mercury Concentrations in Field Collections of Selected Species of Birds...............88
Table 6.6 Mercury Concentrations in Humans from Selected Geographic Areas....................102
Table 6.7 Mercury Concentrations in Field Collections of Selected Species of Mammals. ....105
Table 7.1 Mercury Concentrations in Multitaxonomic Collections from a Single Collection
Area...........................................................................................................................140
Table 8.1 Lethality of Inorganic and Organic Mercury Compounds to Selected Species of
Aquatic Organisms. ..................................................................................................156
Table 8.2 Lethality to Birds of Mercury Administered by Oral, Dietary, or Other Routes......164
Table 8.3 Lethality of Organomercury Compounds to Selected Mammals. ............................166
Table 9.1 Sublethal Effects of Mercury Compounds Administered to Humans and Selected
Species of Mammals.................................................................................................190
Table 10.1 Mercury Concentrations in Selected Biological Tissues and Abiotic Materials
Collected from Minamata Bay, Japan, and Environs. ..............................................216
Table 10.2 Total Mercury and Methylmercury Concentrations in Human Brain Cerebrum
of Patients Dying from Diagnosed Minamata Disease after Various Intervals vs.
Controls.....................................................................................................................221
Table 10.3 Mercury and Methylmercury Concentrations in Organs of Minamata Disease
Victims Dying between 1973 and 1985 and in Residents from Minamata Bay
Not Afflicted with Minamata Disease and Dying between 1973 and 1991. ............222
Table 10.4 Total Mercury Concentrations in Tissues of First 23 Reported Cases of Minamata
Disease in Niigata Prefecture, Japan, 1965, and in Fish and Shellfish from Agano
River, Niigata Prefecture, 1965. ...............................................................................226
Table 10.5 Mercury Concentrations in Whole Blood and Serum of 53 Adult Women from
the Faroe Islands. ......................................................................................................229
Table 10.6 Relation between Number of Fish Dinners per Week, Birth Weight, and Mercury
Concentrations in Umbilical Cord during Pregnancy for Nonsmoking Faroese
Mothers. ....................................................................................................................230
Table 11.1 Total Mercury Concentrations in Abiotic Materials, Plants, and Animals near
Active Brazilian Gold Mining and Refining Sites....................................................245
Table 11.2 Total Mercury Concentrations in Abiotic Materials, Plants, and Animals near
Historic Gold Mining and Refining Sites in the United States.................................258
Table 12.1 Proposed Mercury Criteria for the Protection of Selected Natural Resources. ........272
Table 12.2 Proposed Mercury Criteria for the Protection of Human Health..............................278
© 2006 by Taylor & Francis Group, LLC
List of Figures
Figure 3.1 Major transformations of mercury in the environment...............................................25
Figure 6.1 Mercury concentrations in livers of four species of pinniped mammals: harbor
seal, Phoca groenlandica; grey seal, Halichoerus grypus; California sea lion,
Zalophus californianus; and northern fur seal, Callorhinus ursinus. .......................114
© 2006 by Taylor & Francis Group, LLC
