A review of events that expose children to elemental mercury in the United States

Abstract

Concern for children exposed to elemental mercury prompted the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to review the sources of elemental mercury exposures in children, describe the location and proportion of children affected, and make recommendations on how to prevent these exposures. In this review, we excluded mercury exposures from coal-burning facilities, dental amalgams, fish consumption, medical waste incinerators, or thimerosal-containing vaccines. We reviewed federal, state, and regional programs with data on mercury releases along with published reports of children exposed to elemental mercury in the United States. We selected all mercury-related events that were documented to expose (or potentially expose) children. Primary exposure locations were at home, at school, and at others such as industrial property not adequately remediated or medical facilities. Exposure to small spills from broken thermometers was the most common scenario; however, reports of such exposures are declining. The information reviewed suggests that most releases do not lead to demonstrable harm if the exposure period is short and the mercury is properly cleaned up. Primary prevention should include health education and policy initiatives.

Prenatal Maternal Occupational Exposure and Postnatal Child Exposure to Elemental Mercury

“…This is similar to the standard in the United States. 16,18 Although reasonable safeguards have been established in China, the results of environmental surveillance are still unsatisfactory to some degree. 19 Industry officials, government officials, health professionals, and workers all have the responsibilities to foster a safe working environment.…”

“…Several states such as Illinois, Washington, Maine, Minnesota, and California have state laws prohibiting or restricting the sale or distribution of mercury-in-glass thermometers, whereas other states are still in the process. 18 The European Union has campaigned for a global ban on the sale of mercury-in-glass thermometers, a ban on exports of mercury from the European Union that came into force in July 2011, but there is still a long way to go to completely stop the use of mercury thermometers. 21 Therefore, the use of mercury-containing products still remains a worldwide health risk now.…”

“…Appropriate public education programs for Chinese health care practitioners and parents on the prevention and treatment of children's exposure to elemental mercury should be well developed. 5,10,18,22 After reviewing literatures on childhood elemental mercury exposure, we found that children were severely exposed to a variety of sources of elemental mercury including artisanal gold mining thermometers and other measuring devices, dental amalgams, folk remedies, and misdisposal of mercury-contained wastes. [3][4][5][6][7]10,15,18,23,24 In the United States, children's exposure FIGURE 1.…”

“…3,4,18 This might be largely related to the decreased use of mercury-in-glass thermometers and lack of enough supervision of mercury-containing wastes. 3,18 In this study, oral DMSA is effective for the treatment of elemental mercury poisoning 15,25 ; however, children should be prescribed it only when the source of exposure was completely removed from their environment; otherwise, more absorption might occur.…”

“…3,4,18 This might be largely related to the decreased use of mercury-in-glass thermometers and lack of enough supervision of mercury-containing wastes. 3,18 In this study, oral DMSA is effective for the treatment of elemental mercury poisoning 15,25 ; however, children should be prescribed it only when the source of exposure was completely removed from their environment; otherwise, more absorption might occur. 15,26 CONCLUSIONS This is the first clinical report to discuss prenatal exposure because of maternal occupational contact in CFLs industry, and vigilance for potential exposure in CFLs industry and substitution of mercury-in-glass thermometers were suggested.…”