If a pregnant woman eats large amounts of fish contaminated with methylmercury , her unborn child may develop damage to vision, hearing, taste, smell, memory, and mental ability . Infants and children are also at high risk from methylmercury-contaminated fish and possibly breast milk. Very high exposure to breathing mercury metal vapor in the air can poison quickly . Symptoms begin with cough, chest pain, trouble breathing, and upset stomach. Chemical pneumonia, which can be fatal, can then develop.
Children are more susceptible than adults to mercury poisoning.
How Exposure to Mercury Can Occur There are four main types of mercury . The first type, mercury metal, accounts for most exposure at work, at home, and in the community environment. Exposure to the second type, methylmercury, only occurs from eating some types of fish. Exposure to the other two types of mercury are less common. Exposure to any form of mercury on a repeated basis, or even from a single high exposure, can cause mercury toxicity.