Mercury Quick Facts
Health Effects of Mercury Exposure
What is Elemental Mercury?
Elemental (metallic) mercury is the shiny, silver-gray metal
found in thermometers, barometers, and thermostats and other
electrical switches. Mercury:
• Can break into droplets when spilled. The droplets spread
easily and can build up in tiny cracks and spaces in your house.
• Can vaporize (evaporate) into the air in your house. The
vapor cannot be seen or smelled.
• Can be toxic to people's nervous system, lungs and kidneys.
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How can I be exposed to
elemental mercury in my home?
People can be exposed to elemental
mercury when household items that
contain mercury are broken. Elemental
mercury can also be brought into your
house from abandoned industrial sites
and other places. Breathing mercury
vapors in air is the most common way
to be exposed to elemental mercury,
and is the most harmful to your health. If mercury is swallowed
most of it passes through your body and very little is absorbed. If
you touch mercury for a short period of time a small amount may
pass through your skin, but not enough to harm you.
If mercury spills in your house:
• it can adsorb, or be drawn into carpet, furniture, floors,
walls and other items.
• it can be tracked throughout the house if it is not cleaned
up right away.
• it will vaporize into the air over time. Mercury vapor is
heavier than air and tends to remain near the floor or area
where the spill happened. It can build up in poorly
ventilated or low-lying areas in your house.
• vapors can get into the ventilation system and be spread
throughout your house.
If mercury is spilled onto a hot surface, such as a burner on a
stove, mercury will vaporize quickly and can be more dangerous.
How much mercury spilled
in a room will make air in
the room unsafe?
Any amount of mercury spilled indoors
can be hazardous. The more mercury
is spilled, the more its vapor will build
up in air and the more hazardous it will
be. Even a small spill, such as from a
broken thermometer, can produce
hazardous amounts of vapor if a room
is small enough, warm enough and
people spend a good deal of time
there, as in a small bedroom.
EPA cleaning up a mercury spill
at a house.
Call ATSDR at (913) 669-3924 or 669-2589 if you have health-related
questions about mercury. If you have questions about cleaning up a
mercury spill of any size, call the U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA) Region 7 office at (913) 281-0991.
ATSDR
AGENCY FOR TOXIC SUBSTANCES
AND DISEASE REGISTRY
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What are the Health Effects of Mercury Exposure?
The health effects that can be caused by breathing mercury depend on how
much mercury vapor you breathe and how long you breathe the vapors. Health
problems can result from short-term or long-term mercury exposure.
Who is most likely to have
health problems after breathing
mercury vapors?
The following groups of people are
particularly sensitive to the harmful
effects of mercury:
Health effects caused by short-term exposure to
high levels of mercury vapors
• Cough, sore throat
• Shortness of breath
• Chest pain
• Nausea, vomiting,
diarrhea
• Increase in blood
pressure or heart rate
• A metallic taste in the
mouth
• Eye irritation
• Headache
• Vision problems
Pregnant women - Mercury can pass
from a mother's body to her develop-
ing fetus.
Infants - Mercury can also be passed
to nursing infants through breast milk.
Young children - They tend to play
on floors where mercury may have
been spilled, and are more likely to
breathe more vapors than an adult
because they breathe faster and
have smaller lungs.
Health effects caused by long-term exposure to
mercury vapors
Anxiety
Excessive shyness
Anorexia
Sleeping problems
Loss of appetite
Irritability
Fatigue
Forgetfulness
Tremors
Changes in vision
Changes in hearing
What tests are available for elemental mercury exposure?
Urine or blood samples can be tested to see if you have been exposed to too much mer-
cury. A urine test is preferred for measuring elemental mercury. Urine samples may be col-
lected over a 24-hour period, or taken once (preferably in the morning after awakening). A
blood test can be used to measure exposure to high levels of mercury if you can be tested
within three days of being exposed.
If a test shows you have mercury poisoning (too much mercury in your body), your doctor
can give you drugs that will remove the mercury from your body. Call the Poison Control
Center toll-free, 1-800-222-1222, if you or your doctor need help understanding your
test results.
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