Blueprint for Mercury Elimination, Page 2 Mercury in the Environment M ercury is a naturally occurring element found everywhere in the environment. It can become airborne from natural processes, such as soil decomposition and volcanic eruption, and fall back to earth in dust, rain or snow. Lakes and rivers are contaminated when there is direct discharge of mercury-containing industrial or municipal wastewater to them. In the water, mercury is converted to methyl mercury by bacteria or by chemical reactions. Tiny aquatic organisms absorb methyl mercury.
Fish absorb methyl mercury from the organisms they eat.
It builds up to high levels in predatory fish at the top of the aquatic food chain. Bioaccumulation produces high concentrations of methyl mercury in the fish people eat. Since it is distributed throughout the tissue, there is no method of cooking or cleaning fish that will remove mercury. In the brain, methyl mercury interferes with the way nerve cells function. High levels of mercury in infants can cause mental and physical retardation.