How does mercury poisoning occur? Mercury poisoning is caused by this

Mercury poisoning is a word we often hear in our daily lives. Usually when we use mercury thermometers, the elderly will always kindly remind us to be careful and never break it, otherwise it will cause mercury poisoning. So how does mercury poisoning happen? Many people are full of doubts about this. In fact, there are two causes of mercury poisoning. One is through food intake, and the other is caused by inhaling large amounts of mercury vapor.

Mercury, also known as mercury, is a silvery-white liquid metal that evaporates at room temperature. Mercury poisoning is most common in the chronic form, mainly occurring during production activities and caused by long-term inhalation of mercury vapor and mercury compound dust. The main symptoms are mental and neurological abnormalities, gingivitis, and tremors. Acute mercury poisoning occurs by inhaling large doses of mercury vapor or ingesting mercury compounds. People who are allergic to mercury may be poisoned even if mercury oil-based preparations are applied topically.

The amount of mercury ingested into the human body through food has now reached 20-30 μg/day, and in seriously polluted areas it is even as high as 200-300 μg/day, which poses a serious threat to human health. Therefore, the prevention and control of mercury poisoning has become an important issue faced by all countries in the world.

Because mercury is highly fluid and easily evaporates at room temperature, mercury poisoning is a common occupational poisoning. It mainly occurs from long-term inhalation of mercury vapor or mercury compound dust during production. Industrial poisoning is seen among workers in mercury mining, amalgam smelting, gold and silver extraction, vacuum mercury, lighting, instruments, thermometers, dental fillings, fulminate of mercury, pigments, pharmaceuticals, nuclear reactor coolants and atomic radiation protection materials.

Mercury is widely present in nature. Various natural phenomena can cause mercury to circulate continuously from the surface through the atmosphere, rain, snow and other links, and can be absorbed by animals and plants. Human production activities can significantly increase mercury pollution to the environment. Although the proportion of this type of man-made pollution is not large, the emissions are concentrated, so the harm is far more serious than natural pollution. Mercury-containing wastewater pollution of rivers, lakes and oceans can cause pollution-related diseases such as Minamata disease.

Short-term (>3 to 5 hours) inhalation of high-concentration mercury vapor (>1.0 mg/m3) and oral ingestion of large amounts of inorganic mercury can cause acute mercury poisoning; taking or applying folk remedies containing mercury can cause subacute mercury poisoning; occupational exposure to mercury vapor often causes chronic mercury poisoning.