# Talk:Mercury (element)


#### Mercury In The Ocean
Biogeochemical cycling of mercury (Hg) is lacking from research in the open ocean . Little studies have shown the link between the enrichment of sediments from organic matter and how mercury and methylmercury (MeHg) is driven by the organic matter in submarine canyons. Inorganic mercury converts into methylmercury in the marine environment that is readily assimilated into phytoplankton and transferred up the food web to higher trophic levels . 


#### Marine Animals
Methylmercury in found in wildlife and seafood consumers such as fish, birds and many marine mammals such as Odontocetes (toothed whales) . Bottlenose dolphins inhabiting the Indian River Lagoon in Florida (IRL) have been reported to have the highest concentrations of total mercury, in the blood and skin, in the world . IRL dolphins’ prey upon fish species that are known to have higher concentrations of mercury, 3-12 times higher than the same species located in Charleston, South Carolina. These species include spotted seatrout, Atlantic croaker, red drum, striped mullet, and pinfish, many of which humans consume. 


#### Ocean Sedimentation
Mercury moves throughout the environment easily moving to the ocean from atmospheric deposition and with particle-reactive forms traveling to soils and rivers ultimately leading to the ocean . As mercury is emitted into the atmosphere from anthropogenic and natural sources, it circulates the globe by atmospheric general circulation (GEM) and is deposited into the oceans . Elemental mercury is deposited into ocean sediments by transitioning from gaseous mercury (Hgo) to reactive mercury (Hg2+) in the process of photochemically oxidizing . Dry and wet deposition deposits Hg2+ onto the surface of the ocean, where it is either re-emitted back into the atmosphere or absorbed into particulate matter producing Hg (HgP), eventually depositing into ocean sediment.

Hayyylyn (talk) 01:58, 24 November 2020‎ (UTC)

article currently "cites" the etymology from dictionary.com but intentionally uses misleading wording. "hydrargyrum" came from Latin "hydrargyrus," which came from "hydrargyros," which came from "hydr-" and "argyros". "hydr-" NOT "hydor" as currently falsely stated. the former is a STEM of the later. this doesn't seem conceptually impossible to understand. if the etymology were based on "hydor" instead of "hydr-" as claimed, the word would have been "hydorargyrum," which clearly isn't the case. the STEM "hydr-," NOT the WORD "hydor," is in "hydrargyrum.”
as for sourcing, how about using a more legitimate one: https://www.etymonline.com/word/hydrargyrum#etymonline_v_34465
SollyWIKI (talk) SollyWIKI (talk) 04:51, 3 December 2023 (UTC)

i should specify, this is all in reference to the intro.SollyWIKI (talk) SollyWIKI (talk) 05:05, 3 December 2023 (UTC)
Both dictionary.com and etymonline.com are acceptable sources, according to WikiProject Linguistics. How should the etymology be made more clear in the leading paragraph? If hydr- is the stem derived from hydor, then it's reasonable to state in simple terms that hydrargyrum is derived from the two words hydor and argyros. The full details of the etymology don't need to be included in that opening paragraph - there's a whole section on etymology. Reconrabbit (talk) 17:50, 4 December 2023 (UTC)

Hi,
I would like to propose an addition to the introduction that underscores the severe health threats posed by mercury. I suggest including the following sentence to highlight its extreme toxicity and the potential harm it can cause to critical body systems:
"Mercury, known for its extreme toxicity, is a hazardous element that poses significant threats to the nervous system, immune system, kidneys, and other vital organs."
or just this sentence :
"Mercury is a particularly toxic element that can damage the nervous system, immune system, kidneys, and other organs."
For further reference and a comprehensive understanding of mercury's impact on health, please consider the following sources:
https://www.who.int/en/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/mercury-and-health
https://www.hindawi.com/journals/jeph/2012/460508/
https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S1382668905000700
Are you in agreement with this modification?
Have a nice day.
OrionGrey Oriongrey (talk) 03:13, 9 December 2023 (UTC)

I made some changes to this effect, though a lot of this information is linked under the toxicity section in Mercury poisoning. It was mainly lacking in the opening paragraphs. Reconrabbit (talk|edits) 22:30, 21 December 2023 (UTC)


### Mercury (element)
The tabulated density data deviate substantially from those listed in a fairly recent edition of the CRC Handbook.  (Similar to the data at [1].)  Please check.  —DIV (1.144.104.165 (talk) 05:26, 27 February 2024 (UTC))

The density is given at r.t. (presumed 20 C). The value given by the 2004 reference differs only by 3 thousandths from Engineering Toolbox. What change is suggested? Reconrabbit 16:09, 27 February 2024 (UTC)

The blue diamond of the NFPA 704 diamond for mercury should be level 4.  I searched up “mercury NFPA 704” and it gave me level 4 toxicity.  Could someone please change 2 to 4 in the blue diamond? 2603:8080:D03:89D4:E478:6DBC:15EE:62FA (talk) 23:24, 16 September 2024 (UTC)

The 2024 version of the Sigma-Aldrich safety data sheet has acute toxicity at level 2: [2] You may be looking at an old safety data sheet like this one that puts it at 3: [3] [4] I can't find a level 4 indicating diamond. These documents are emphasizing the hazards of mercury vapor. I think we should go with more recent information (keep it at 2). Reconrabbit 19:39, 17 September 2024 (UTC)

"change Venus to Aphrodite"
The article specifies that Aristotle's treatise On the Soul mentions mercury (in fact, liquid silver/quicksilver) as that which Daedalus pours into "Venus" so it may move. That's a translation error, though - the statue Aristotle mentions is a wooden Aphrodite. While Venus appears to be the Roman equivalent Goddess of Aphrodite, one still should recognise their differences. NemoSciat110 (talk) 08:10, 24 September 2024 (UTC)

 Done Not sure why the article said Venus, even the source says Aphrodite.  Cowboygilbert -  (talk) ♥ 01:37, 27 September 2024 (UTC)