Mercury levels rising in newborns

[donsu]

http://www.boston.com/news/globe/editorial_opinion/editorials/articles/2004/02/17/mercury_rising?mode=PF

A NEW, more accurate measure of mercury levels in newborns has doubled the Environmental Protection Agency's estimate of how many might have dangerous amounts of the toxin in their bodies. The new data strengthen the case for requiring coal-burning power plants and manufacturers to reduce sharply the amount of mercury in their emissions. Under the old measurement, one in 12 US women of childbearing age had unsafe levels of mercury in their blood. But researchers recently discovered that mercury levels in a fetus's umbilical cord are 70 percent higher than in its mother's blood, not the same, as had previously been believed. This means that one out of six women bearing children has a level of mercury that could cause learning disabilities, sluggishness, and other neurological problems in her offspring.

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Under its "Clear Skies" initiative, the Bush administration proposes a less rigorous approach to mercury cleanup, one that by 2010 would permit 522 percent more mercury emissions than full enforcement of the Clean Air Act. Under the administration's proposal, companies could also escape cleanup requirements by buying pollution credits from a utility hundreds of miles away.

For a pollutant like the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide, such credit trading makes sense because the adverse effect of the substance is global, not local. But that is not the case with mercury. A Florida study has shown that allowing a plant to continue to spew mercury from its smokestack causes a concentration of the toxin in the immediate neighborhood.
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nowadays before you get pregnant you have to have your body checked for contaminates. that must cost a pretty penney.

[Ilsa]

1. We have mercury in our bay and can't eat the fish.

Alcoa, determined to be responsible for the toxic levels, won't give the press any information on cleanup. This is in Lavaca Bay on the Texas coast. (Link: http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=104&topic_id=1137236&mesg_id=1137236 )

Also, the Bay near Baytown (by Houston), Galveston Bay, is supposed to be too polluted by dioxins to eat more than one serving of fish per week.

I hope the Texas shrimpers and commercial fishermen are happy with these pigs.

[SeattleDem]

2. and everyone is worried about vaccines.

I hate to say this, but this article, sadly, adds some weight to what I've argued here and elsewhere about the rising incidence of autism.

Many, many people believe that thimerosol, a mercury-related preservative that used to be in vaccines, is causing the rise in autism. There is very little data to support such an assertion and for several biologic reasons, it doesn't add up.

I've always argued that if autism is related to mercury toxicity, it is far, far more likely due to exposure in utero. Our water from which we get fish, our air that we breathe, the soil in which we grow our food is all contaminated with mercury.

People who are up in arms about vaccines and refusing to vaccinate their children really need to get on the environmental band wagon with me - it is an absolute outrage how we've poisoned our environment, and now our children.

Having a severely autistic relative, I can speak first-hand about the condition and the wear and tear on the family and the need to find the cause(s) NOW and find better treatments.

on edit: can this topic be moved to "Health" so it sticks around a few days?

[PA Democrat]

4. Mercury and Autism

My daughter has autism and I've followed the issue closely. I'm not convinced one way or another about a vaccine/ autism link, but I am convinced that there is some environmental factor involved. The rates of autism are skyrocketing.

Sadly, almost ALL of the government funded research on autism centers on genetics alone. It's true that there is a genetic component, but genetics alone can't explain the increase in incidence. Most likely there is a genetic factor that puts some children more at risk to be adversely affected by an environmental factor.

[SeattleDem]

5. agree - genetics and environment

and we need to learn about the interplay between the two as well.

There appear to be clusters of autism too - I can't remember where, but there is a particular county in California where the rate is rising faster than elsewhere in the state, and it's not related to people moving there for services. Geographic clusters strongly suggest environment as a factor.

[sweetheart]

3. global warming does that

Isn't the average temperature up over 1 degree celsius?

I used to have a little blob of mercury in a testtube when i was a kid. It was soooo cool to roll that heavy liquid metal around in my
hands... probably not the best thing to do, but really cool (literally, as the metal is heavy and cold).