A number of children have developed mercury poisoning after playing with small vials of mercury which they found at home or school. These children were hospitalized when symptoms became so severe that they could not longer walk. One contamination incident involved closing a school for weeks and entailed environmental investigation of residences, cars, school buses and day care centers. The biological half-life of mercury is 60 days. Thus, even though exposure is reduced, the body burden will remain for at least a few months.
Elemental mercury is most hazardous when inhaled.
Dermal contact with liquid mercury can significantly increase biological levels. The primary focus of this article is elemental mercury, since that is the form of exposure to health care workers involved with mercury-containing instrument accidents. In the human body, mercury accumulates in the liver, kidney, brain, and blood. Mercury may cause acute or chronic health effects. However, severe acute effects may include severe gastrointestinal damage, cardiovascular collapse, or kidney failure, all of which could be fatal.