Mercury Toxicity
Author: David A Olson, MD; Chief Editor: Tarakad S Ramachandran, MBBS, FRCP(C), FACP
Organic mercury compounds, specifically methylmercury, are concentrated in the food chain. Fish from contaminated waters are the most common culprits. Industrial mercury pollution is often in the inorganic form, but aquatic organisms and vegetation in waterways such as rivers, lakes, and bays convert it to deadly methylmercury. Fish eat contaminated vegetation, and the mercury becomes biomagnified in the fish. Fish protein binds more than 90% of the consumed methylmercury so tightly that even the most vigorous cooking methods (eg, deep-frying, boiling, baking, pan-frying) cannot remove it. (See Etiology.)

BOSTON (CBS) – An armed robber

/snark

Arctic fish contained measurable amounts of phthalates in the 60's.

"One word: Plastics."

Quicksilver (liquid metallic mercury) is poorly absorbed by ingestion and skin contact. It is hazardous due to its potential to release mercury vapor. Animal data indicate less than 0.01% of ingested mercury is absorbed through the intact gastrointestinal tract, though it may not be true for individuals suffering from ileus. Cases of systemic toxicity from accidental swallowing are rare, and attempted suicide via intravenous injection does not appear to result in systemic toxicity.[18] Though not studied quantitatively, the physical properties of liquid elemental mercury limit its absorption through intact skin and in light of its very low absorption rate from the gastrointestinal tract, skin absorption would not be high.[19] Some mercury vapor is absorbed dermally, but uptake by this route is only about 1% of that by inhalation.[20]

The consumption of fish is by far the most significant source of ingestion-related mercury exposure in humans and animals, although plants and livestock also contain mercury due to bioaccumulation of mercury from soil, water and atmosphere, and due to biomagnification by ingesting other mercury-containing organisms.[5] Exposure to mercury can occur from breathing contaminated air,[6] from eating foods that have acquired mercury residues during processing,[7] from exposure to mercury vapor in mercury amalgam dental restorations,[8] and from improper use or disposal of mercury and mercury-containing objects, for example, after spills of elemental mercury or improper disposal of fluorescent lamps.[9]

Consumption of whale and dolphin meat, as is the practice in Japan, is a source of high levels of mercury poisoning. Tetsuya Endo, a professor at the Health Sciences University of Hokkaido, has tested whale meat purchased in the whaling town of Taiji and found mercury levels more than 20 times the acceptable Japanese standard.[10]

Human-generated sources, such as coal plants, emit about half of atmospheric mercury, with natural sources such as volcanoes responsible for the remainder. An estimated two-thirds of human-generated mercury comes from stationary combustion, mostly of coal. Other important human-generated sources include gold production, nonferrous metal production, cement production, waste disposal, human crematoria, caustic soda production, pig iron and steel production, mercury production (mostly for batteries), and biomass burning.[11]

Absorption of mercury through the skin can cause Korsakoff's syndrome.[1]
Korsakoff's syndrome (also called Korsakoff's dementia, Korsakoff's psychosis, or amnesic-confabulatory syndrome) is a neurological disorder caused by a lack of thiamine (vitamin B1) in the brain. Its onset is linked to chronic alcohol abuse and/or severe malnutrition. The syndrome is named after Sergei Korsakoff, a Russian neuropsychiatrist who described it during the late 19th century.
There are six major symptoms of Korsakoff's syndrome:

"saw your brick throwing cyborg"

The robotics guys are next door.
I just build cosmic ray cameras.

"It's simpler to just say your wrong. Your wrong."

The laugh-a-minute website.

Nixon's fault.

Interesting country we live in. Everyone has the right to a gun; no one has a right to a meal.

Getting a meal has been found to be far easier with a gun than without; Although I had one cousin who could run down rabbits.

"You literally could not go anywhere in Germany without running into forced labor camps, P.O.W. camps, concentration camps," he said. "They were everywhere."

his error

Making stuff up again?

lol

From MSDS

Se: The substance is toxic to blood, kidneys, lungs, liver,
mucous membranes. Repeated or prolonged exposure to the substance can produce target organs damage.

Hg: The substance may be toxic to blood, kidneys, liver, brain, peripheral
nervous system, central nervous system (CNS). Repeated or prolonged exposure to the substance can produce target organs damage. Repeated or prolonged contact with spray mist may produce chronic eye irritation and severe skin irritation.

Physics Update
Mercury levels in the South China Sea
A ship-based measurement campaign reveals that mercury diffuses in and out of the South China Sea at rates that are high, seasonal, and troubling.

January 14, 2013
Mercury is a potent neurotoxin. It enters the atmosphere when coal is burned and precious metals are mined. Carried by winds, Hg dissolves into seawater, where it emerges, much concentrated and to much alarm, in the flesh of large edible fish.

farm-raised whales

One of Reitze's new business ventures.

12 gauge vs AR 15 the Biden Challenge
Published on Feb 22, 2013

Joe Biden says women only need a double barrel shot gun, not an AR 15. Fire Arms Friday puts that to the test.

"They don't rule us. They work for us! Our rights don't come from them. Our freedom is GUARANTEED by the U.S. Constitution and NON-NEGOTIABLE!"

From an NRA email I just got:
They don't rule us. They work for us! Our rights don't come from them. Our Second Amendment freedom is GUARANTEED by the U.S. Constitution and NON-NEGOTIABLE!

You really should credit Wayne LaPierre when you quote him.

Nobody could set his guitar on fire and play it with his teeth quite like Jimi.

I bet Joe can't tie his own shoes.

One word: Velcro.