The Mercury Devil, an others like it, in our environment and in some Vaccinations. Do you know your rights NOT to vaccinate yourself or your children? (www.lotubirth.com/doc/FEB2003Lotusbirth-477.htm)

    How well is the public informed on the dangerous side effects of mercury (thimerosal), or even lead and aluminum and other trace elements and preservatives used in drug products?  (See also Iron Overloads at the end and a link). These are the concerns of Donna Young

    "Mercury occurs in 3 forms: the metallic element (Hg0 [quicksilver or elemental mercury]); inorganic salts (Hg1+ [mercurous salts] and Hg2+ [mercuric salts]); and organic compounds (methylmercury, ethylmercury, and phenylmercury). Solubility, reactivity, biological effects, and toxicity vary among these forms."  (The AMERICAN ACADEMY OF PEDIATRICS Policy Statement on Mercury, Volume 108, Number 1,July 2001, pp 197-205).

    See the AAP's list of reference how long the medical societies and the governments have allowed the people of planet earth to be endangered and in most cases, needlessly.   Why?  Profits!  Profits! Profits!  Drug companies make hugh profits. No one minds a reasonable profit.  But killing profits are something else.  Their shareholders, and who were likely some politicians, too, are making profits at the expense of good health.  And the Government, too, makes profits on the billions of dollars the drug companies make.  This is strictly Big Business.  Then there is the repeat business of the sick children until they die.  But do we have any babies to spare?   When can we conduct business with ethics to look after our "one" home, this Planet Earth, to be "shared" equally with all and for each and every one of us, to do no harm?

    Could there be a stronger form of action then a mere recommendation?  To quote:

    "The US Public Health Service issued a joint recommendation that thimerosal be removed from vaccines as quickly as possible.."  

    What does that mean, 'as quickly as possible'?  What about informed choice of the risks and advised of our rights we can say "No." to injections of "stuff" into our bodies.  The facts are some informed persons, about 25 percent of the population, do say no to vaccinations.  That is the individual's rights to do so. That information must be taught in the schools and made more public by the major news medias. Particularly, when the hospitals, the health units, the doctors, or the nurses are not, in most instances, offering the facts of any ingredients and trace elements used in the medical products, the drugs, and the vaccinations and the manufacturer's known risk.

    It ought to be regarded as a criminal offense for doctors not to report complaints of health products by any one person; and drug and food products ought to make the means for individuals to document an adverse side effect, directly, to them too, a copy going to their druggist, their doctor, and to the drug manufacturer.  Recommended is to send a letter of complaint by registered mail, if need be. This is to confirm the appropriate individuals received the complaint. Then, post your personal experience in a Sworn Declaration on the Internet. This would be perceived as a duty to alert others.  This is sharing experiences that others need not choose to repeat it, or risk it.

    I also advocate on the issue of immediate cord clamping, imposed on most babies born into the hands of a medical person, that mothers start to publish the names of the doctors and the names of the nurses if they violated their babies rights to be left on the umbilical with no clamping ever.  Or, only done by the parents, for mere cosmetic reasons, hours later, if done at all.  It should be told the parents that the baby remaining as nature intended a psychological biology reciprocal sealed unit does no harm. How's that for a mouth full, eh?   This is the legal right not to do cosmetic amputation of the baby's organ and cord. The motive when done by medical person(s) is likely to take the baby's stem cells. The baby's blood, not only for the stem cells, but for all the other suspensions in the blood, are worth more then gold, and deemed worth more then your baby's deemed rights to be a blue ribbon baby.

    Go public, also, with praise if the medical persons did not clamp the cord or inject your baby with stuff, or insert needles into the baby's skin for blood samples.  That does not have to be done. That is not natural and you have a right to protect your child for a natural birth, as was the homesteaders, prior to the 1920's.  Return to natural, it is most wise.  

    Please share with the public just how long baby's umbilical cord did pulsate. This is so the younger generations begin to question why their doctor was in such a rush...when the cord had not torn, nor was there an accident of placenta previa...the doctor cutting into the cord or the placenta.  

    Please do inform the public of the facts, placenta cords will pulsate unclamped, the longest recorded about 20 minutes.  So question this 30-second clamping endangering to all babies at your local hospital or birth center, or in home births.  Question, question, question.  It is your right, if not an implied duty.  Inform, Inform, Inform, and Share, Share, Share, as much as you can. That is how to get this message out to the youth yet to become the parents, and., it is regretable that they were so victimized and did not know why they had life more of a struggle then many children whose doctors did not do that to them, clamp a pulsating cord.

    The hasty clamping, for harvesting of the child, is likely because the baby had a type of blood posted on the Internet, and a reward for the finder of that blood, is why the medical person endangered the baby, so sacrificed.  The baby was already targeted, if for example he/she was of Russian and Italian, mix, or any mix of race or colors. Or if the baby was premature because they have the most quantity of stem cells, more so then do full term babies.

    Ethnic background of the parents are factors, not just blood types.  The medical persons were and are seeking to "harvest" babies...for stem cells. There are many, many clinical alibis for the hasty clamping. They are false teachings and the doer is on their own voluntary decision if they clamp the pulsating cord, regardless of an alibied medical policy that are outside of facts of empirical science and not good medicine or ethics.  Such wrongful policies, if followed, are forgetful of duty to the Nation's Laws, and in particular law of torts, both civil and criminal.

    To impose any medical care and treatment, even on the new born child, without it being a true benefit to the child, and the mother's life was not in true life and death situation to endanger the child.  It ought to bring a conviction of a criminal assault, if taken to court.  And I advocate this be done.

    It is not good for the baby to interrupt the baby's lifeline, the hopeline, for even one "drop" of blood deprived the child by a clamp on the pulsating cord.

    The Laying of Information is an individual's means to take the matter before a Justice of the Peace.  No experience is necessary.  Just state the violation of the criminal code, and if not known, the Justice of the Peace should know how to find that criminal code law which describes the bodily harm and risk of endangering to the child for that State, Province, or Territory.

    No medical clinical standard or educational policy can direct endangering to a child when the practice need not be done, unless the cord tore or for placenta previa.  Opinions of the doctor or medical person must be substantiated for true need, not a fear in their mind to interrupt another's baby's flow of blood, like for a short cord, or cord around the neck. Those reasons are not a good excuse. This is merely a disguised policy used as an alibi.  It is assault.  It must be recognized the threat to the child, even if they live.  Just because a rape victim lives does not mean assault and battery did not take place, if no informed consent to have a sexual relationship...and on hasty clamping for a child...what informed parents would give consent to endangering their love child?

    Again . . . Only if the cord tore or for placenta previa may a clamp be put on the cord. And those reasons, too, must be questioned in a hearing, too, if they were medical negligence.

    Medical policies for the purpose of establishing alibis stopping the blood and oxygen flow to a child's lungs must be investigated.  Weak excuses for a cord around the neck are that, an alibi to attempt to avoid criminal prosecution of endangering to the baby.  It is never too late to file a Writ for civil damages for a child under the adult age ; and criminal charges do not have any statutory time limitations, in most Nations.  

    COMPROMISED BABIES:  Such measures of clamping off the child's lifeline will require a revived baby. Any oxygen and/or blood revived baby is going to be a compromised child.  The child, while living and look apparently okay, will be impaired to the degree of nutrients deprived the child and volume of pressure and volume to any one artery.  (See the Chow and Ing-case-law, Ontario, Canada, by Sommers and Roth).

    Blood vessels can collapse anywhere by low blood volume and pressure.  The brain is the most vulnerable to be risked for any time without oxygen and fluids to it.  The children with insufficient blood volume and oxygen to the brain often have seizures and sleep apneas.  Hasty clamping can be a likely factor in crib deaths as well.  To quote:

    "Researchers...have gathered increasing evidence that victims may be born with a slight defect of the central nervous system. This defect may interfere with the nervous system's ability to control breathing, heart function, or both. Crib deaths, back in 1979, were reported to kill some 7,000 babies a year in the United States. Crib deaths strikes more boys than girls, and it is more likely to kill premature babies than infants born after a full-term pregnancy. "  References are from: Marie Valdes-Dapena, World Book Encyclopedia, Vol. Ci-Cz, p. 907, 1979).

     My Theory why more boys have died of crib deaths:  The boys were being subjected to more pain by being circumcised and while anemic. They had more risks of infections through the cord and through the penis and more drugs.  The boys likely had infections to the brain, as well from infections caused by endangering practice, and not necessary to be done on babies.       Both were merely cosmetic procedures.

    When drugs during labor are accepted and without true informed choice, and the same for early clamping, and not being told circumcision is merely cosmetic not necessary for any medical cause, at that time, such shock to the babies can cause the brain defect, or heart problems, and strokes in the child.  They may be so subtle we do not recognize the baby as being a heart/stroke victim.

    Why allow the medical doctors to take these chances with "your" baby?  The facts are that early clamping if done, the baby is deprived of up to 50 percent total blood supply rich in: amino acids, enzymes, hormones, vitamins and minerals, white cells to fight infections, red stem cells, mature red cells, plasma, platelets, and the list goes on and on.  See References the Nurses Medical Manual,   www.lotusbirth.com/doc/FEB2003Lotusbirth-110.htm

    The placenta full of the baby's deprived blood is often taken, secretly and drained.  See letter from Gary Mar, Health and Wellness Minister, Alberta, Canada. Even in home births by the midwives, they can be collecting the placenta blood, as they are all trained to clamp the cord and taken the blood for stem cell research.  It is almost a passion, or a mission. Some midwives doing this in militant fashion of control.  They are using their "training" as their alibi denying your informed consent to stop the clamping on a functioning and pulsating cord.  

    All internal disorders, distress, disease, even death, the 4 D's, are a common factor of this low blood volume and pressure and nutrients to the baby's organs, heart, brain, lungs, and other internal organs being caused by unnecessary clamping on a pulsating cord.  The damage is not done by the cutting off the cord...the damage is already done at the hand-squeezing, tying off, or clamping the yet pulsating umbilical cord. The facts of science is that the pulsating can take 20-minutes to stop.  This is if the baby's rights are respected and the quality of lifeline, left alone, patiently.  Cosmetic removal can wait, if done at all, with the reminder, a cut cord threatens 5 to 15 days of a risk of infections, and over 400,000 to 500,000 babies die annually, around the world by having their cords cut.  No need to do this, either.  It will only take two days for the attached and unclamped cord and placenta to fall off -- perfect navel, no infections and the baby, not a test tube benefits from their own whole blood transfused into the expanding lungs.

    The vaccinations with their questionable ingredients, preservatives, and trace elements add to the distress on the newborn's system. The questionable injections compound the baby's distress because the baby is low in blood volume and anemic in nutrients and will have likely brain infection by brain lesions. It is common for the child's failure to progress to be latent in being detected. The internal disorder may not show up for weeks, months, such as muscle problems, or even in years later, for the child's reading and math abilities, or speech problems, to be known. These problems often are revealed when the child is compared to his/her peer group as to development and abilities and confidence in learning.

The AMERICAN ACADEMY OF PEDIATRICS Policy Statement on Mercury, Volume 108, Number 1

July 2001, pp 197-205. reveals that baby's umbilical cord blood was tested for Mercury. This testing of the cord reveals that the Iceland peoples ( Iceland in the Norwegian Sea) new born babies had their umbilical cords early clamped.  When the baby's cord is left alone until all pulsation ceases, the cord is white, silver, limp and not pulsating and the child's lips and tongue are not blue. Cord in the blood indicates early cord clamping.  

    Was this by informed choice no clamping off the cord need ever be done, or cut, with no harm to the child . This least risk of cord infection and assurance of full blood transfusion into the baby's expanding lungs goes back to the natural ways of leaving the baby as a biological reciprocal sealed unit. This allows for the cord and placenta to fall off naturally in a day or two's time?  This means the baby has full blood immunities and does not need injections of questionable Vit. K, with its trace elements.

     No clamping or cutting of the cord was the way of the times gone by.  If we are going to have healthy babies, we should return to the ways that did no harm. As long as the mothers are not cut during birth, and birth naturally, they and babies do just fine.  One researcher back in 1957, Dr. Mavis Gunther said, this for no interruption of the baby's circulation system, unassisted births, the babies thrive.  What more can be said to leave the cord alone, and forget vaccinating healthy babies, or breaking their skin for blood samples.

    The early umbilical cord clamping would weaken these babies by modern Western and questionable ways.  This would make babies even more vulnerable to brain damage as to low immunities and low blood volume and pressure.  There would be, if drugs were used on the mothers, more dead blood cells. This would then lead to an increased iron to in excess in the baby's blood stream, causing further mischief.  If medical instruments were used to cut these women, to give birth, outside of their natural traditions, the instruments were likely treated with Mercury.  This study reveals such mercury enters the blood stream and crosses the placenta.

     To quote, the review on damaged children by Mercury:

    "The Faroe Islands study enrolled 700 mother and infant pairs at birth and monitored mercury levels in mothers' hair and cord blood , children's hair at 12 and 84 months of age, children's blood at 84 months of age, and neurodevelopmental measures of multifocal, domain-related effects in children at 84 months of age.27

    (Ref.: 27...Grandjean P, Weihe P, White RF, et al. Cognitive deficit in 7-year-old children with prenatal exposure to methylmercury. Neurotoxicol Teratol. 1997;19:417-428 ).

 Policy Statement

http://www.aap.org/policy/t109907.html

Pediatrics

 Volume 108, Number 1

 July 2001, pp 197-205

Technical Report: Mercury in the Environment: Implications for Pediatricians (RE109907)

AMERICAN ACADEMY OF PEDIATRICS

Lynn R. Goldman, MD, MPH; Michael W. Shannon, MD, MPH; and the Committee on Environmental Health

ABSTRACT. Mercury is a ubiquitous environmental toxin that causes a wide range of adverse health effects in humans. Three forms of mercury (elemental, inorganic, and organic) exist, and each has its own profile of toxicity. Exposure to mercury typically occurs by inhalation or ingestion. Readily absorbed after its inhalation, mercury can be an indoor air pollutant, for example, after spills of elemental mercury in the home; however, industry emissions with resulting ambient air pollution remain the most important source of inhaled mercury. Because fresh-water and ocean fish may contain large amounts of mercury, children and pregnant women can have significant exposure if they consume excessive amounts of fish. The developing fetus and young children are thought to be disproportionately affected by mercury exposure, because many aspects of development, particularly brain maturation, can be disturbed by the presence of mercury. Minimizing mercury exposure is, therefore, essential to optimal child health. This review provides pediatricians with current information on mercury, including environmental sources, toxicity, and treatment and prevention of mercury exposure.

ABBREVIATIONS. FDA, Food and Drug Administration; CNS, central nervous system; ppm, parts per million; PCBs, polychlorinated biphenyls; NAS, National Academy of Sciences; CDC, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; EPA, Environmental Protection Agency; ATSDR, Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry.

INTRODUCTION

In response to the Food and Drug Administration Modernization Act of 1997,1 the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has been reviewing the use of mercury in regulated biological products. In June 1999, the FDA notified the American Academy of Pediatrics that some infants given routine immunizations could exceed 1 of 3 federal guidelines for daily exposure to mercury because of the presence of thimerosal, a mercury-containing preservative, in some vaccines.2 Currently, all vaccines in the recommended vaccination schedule do not contain thimerosal as a preservative. This technical report provides additional information about the sources, exposures, and toxicity of the 3 forms of mercury in the environment and implications for pediatricians.

SOURCES OF MERCURY IN THE ENVIRONMENT

Everyone is exposed to small amounts of mercury.3,4 Mercury occurs in 3 forms: the metallic element (Hg0 [quicksilver or elemental mercury]); inorganic salts (Hg1+ [mercurous salts] and Hg2+ [mercuric salts]); and organic compounds (methylmercury, ethylmercury, and phenylmercury). Solubility, reactivity, biological effects, and toxicity vary among these forms.

Naturally occurring mercury sources include cinnabar (ore) and fossil fuels, such as coal and petroleum. Environmental contamination has resulted from mining, smelting, and industrial discharges. Mercury in the air is deposited into the water. Bacteria in lake, stream, and ocean sediments can convert elemental mercury to organic mercury compounds (eg, methylmercury), which may then accumulate as fish move up the food chain (Fig 1). This is what occurred in Minamata Bay, Japan, in the 1950s when a factory discharged large quantities of a mercury catalyst into the bay. There were 41 deaths and at least 30 cases of profound brain injury in infants born to mothers who ingested contaminated fish during pregnancy.5 States have issued advisories about consumption of fish from contaminated waters. Large, long-lived, predatory ocean fish, such as tuna, swordfish, and shark, may have increased methylmercury content because of exposure to natural and industrial sources of mercury.

Elemental Mercury

Sources

Elemental mercury is liquid or vapor at room temperature. In the United States, the largest source of atmospheric mercury vapor is from burning fossil fuels, especially high-sulfur coal. Other sources include chloralkali production (a process that uses mercury in electrolysis of salt to produce hydrogen chloride and sodium hydroxide, chlorine, caustic soda, bleach, and other products), mercury mining and smelting, waste incinerators (especially medical waste), crematoriums, and volcanoes.3,6 Elemental mercury in liquid form is found in thermometers, barometers, and other instruments. Dental amalgam, a composite metal that is about 50% mercury, has been used to fill decayed teeth since the 1820s.7 Fluorescent light bulbs (usually 2- to 4-ft tubes) and disk (button) batteries also contain mercury. Indiscriminate disposal of these items is a major source of environmental mercury contamination when they are buried in landfills or burned in waste incinerators rather than recycled. Elemental and inorganic mercury have been used in folk remedies from around the world. Elemental mercury may be used in homes in rituals, such as those used in Santeria, which is practiced by some immigrants from Haiti and other island nations. In Santeria rituals, elemental mercury is sprinkled around a home as part of magicoreligious ceremonies. Unfortunately, this mercury vaporizes and may expose children and others who reside in the household.

Absorption, Metabolism, and Excretion

Elemental mercury readily vaporizes at room temperature. When inhaled, elemental mercury vapor easily passes through pulmonary alveolar membranes and enters the blood, where it distributes primarily to the red blood cells, central nervous system (CNS), and kidneys. In contrast, less than 0.1% of elemental mercury is absorbed from the gastrointestinal tract after ingestion, so it has little toxicity when ingested. Only minimal absorption occurs with dermal exposure.4 Elemental mercury in contact with tissue oxidizes to mercuric ion, which does not cross the blood-brain barrier well. On the other hand, when elemental mercury is converted to the mercuric form within the CNS, it is less able to diffuse out of the brain. Elemental mercury also crosses the placenta and concentrates in the fetus.8 In adults, the half-life of elemental mercury is 60 days (range: 35-90 days); excretion is primarily fecal, though some is exhaled.

Toxicity

At high concentrations, mercury vapor inhalation produces acute necrotizing bronchitis and pneumonitis, which can lead to death from respiratory failure. Fatalities have resulted from heating elemental mercury in inadequately ventilated areas. Long-term exposure to mercury vapor primarily affects the CNS. The "Mad Hatter," a character in the book Alice in Wonderland, was based on the brain disease that commonly affected hat makers who used liquid mercury as a treatment for hat felt. Early nonspecific signs include insomnia, forgetfulness, loss of appetite, and mild tremor and may be misdiagnosed as psychiatric illness. Continued exposure leads to progressive tremor and erethism, a syndrome characterized by red palms, emotional lability, and memory impairment. Salivation, excessive sweating, and hemoconcentration are accompanying autonomic signs. Mercury also accumulates in kidney tissues, directly causing renal toxicity, including proteinuria or nephrotic syndrome. Isolated renal effects may also be immunologic in origin.

Mercury exposure from dental amalgams has provoked concerns about subclinical or unusual neurologic effects ranging from subjective complaints, such as chronic fatigue, to demyelinating neuropathies, including multiple sclerosis. Although amalgam fillings have been suspected of causing clinical toxicity since they were introduced, studies have been hampered by insensitive analytic techniques and idiosyncratic outcome measures. Although dental amalgams are a source of mercury exposure and are associated with slightly higher urinary mercury excretion,9-11 there is no scientific evidence of any measurable clinical toxic effects other than rare hypersensitivity reactions.12 An expert panel for the National Institutes of Health has concluded that existing evidence indicates dental amalgams do not pose a health risk and should not be replaced merely to decrease mercury exposure.13 A controlled trial of amalgam versus glass ionomer with long-term developmental follow-up is currently being conducted, but the results will not be available for several years.

Inorganic Mercury Compounds

Sources

Inorganic mercury compounds (salts) have antibacterial, antiseptic, cathartic, and diuretic properties. Examples of inorganic mercury salts are mercurous chloride (calomel) and mercuric oxide. Inorganic mercury has been used in a number of consumer products ranging from teething powders to skin lightening creams, but its use has been banned in the United States. These products are still available on the world market, however.

Absorption, Metabolism, and Excretion

Although only about 10% of an ingested mercury salt is absorbed, ingested mercury salts tend to be extremely caustic. A small amount of dermal absorption occurs as well. In adults, the half-life is about 40 days. Excretion is mostly fecal, but with chronic exposure, urinary excretion is somewhat greater.

Toxicity

Absorption of ingested mercury salts can be fatal. Ingestion is usually inadvertent or with suicidal intent. Gastrointestinal ulceration or perforation and hemorrhage are rapidly produced, followed by circulatory collapse. Breakdown of intestinal mucosal barriers leads to extensive mercury absorption and distribution to the kidneys. Mercury salts are very toxic to the kidneys, causing acute tubular necrosis, immunologic glomerulonephritis, or nephrotic syndrome. Central neuropathy can also occur from mercury salt exposure. Acrodynia (painful extremities), also known as pink disease, seems to be a hypersensitivity response to mercury and was initially reported among infants exposed to calomel teething powders containing mercurous chloride14 (cases also have been reported in infants exposed to the organic mercury compound phenylmercury used as a fungicidal diaper rinse15 and in children exposed to mercury in interior latex paint16,17). A maculopapular rash, swollen and painful extremities, peripheral neuropathy, hypertension, and renal tubular dysfunction develop in affected children. Individual susceptibility is poorly understood.

Organic Mercury Compounds

Sources

Organic compounds include methylmercury, ethylmercury, and phenylmercury. All 3 of these agents have been produced as industrial compounds, primarily as biocides, and some have been marketed as pesticides. Organic mercury compounds are also found in 2 once-common household antiseptics: Mercurochrome (merbromin) and Merthiolate (thimerosal). Methylmercury is the best known, because it is the predominant form of organic mercury found in the environment. Generally, methylmercury in the environment is formed by microorganisms from elemental mercury deposited from the air or discharged into water from natural or human sources. Consumption of fish is the primary route of exposure to organic mercury for children older than 1 year. The methylmercury content of fish varies by species and size of fish and harvest location. The top 10 commercial fish species (canned tuna, shrimp, pollock, salmon, cod, catfish, clams, flatfish, crabs, and scallops), which represent about 85% of the seafood market, contain a mean mercury level of approximately 0.1 µg/g. Methylmercury has been used as a fungicide on seed grains and is also an industrial waste. When grain accidentally treated with a mercury fungicide was eaten by people in Iraq during a famine in the 1970s, mercury poisoning occurred in hundreds of people.18

Ethylmercury, in the form of thimerosal, was formerly used as a topical antiseptic and has also been used as an effective preservative for killed vaccines and other biological agents for medical therapy. Thimerosal contains 49.6% mercury by weight and is metabolized to ethylmercury and thiosalicylate. Before fall 1999, there was 25 µg of mercury in each 0.5-mL dose of most diphtheria and tetanus toxoids and acellular pertussis vaccines as well as some Haemophilus influenzae type b, influenza, meningococcal, pneumococcal, and rabies vaccines. In addition, there was 12.5 µg of mercury in each dose of the hepatitis B vaccine. The reference doses* established by federal agencies were between 0.1 and 0.4 µg/kg/d.6,19 Assuming that the toxicity of ethylmercury is similar to that of methylmercury, the exposure from a single vaccination could potentially exceed federal guidelines for that day and, with routine immunization, a cumulative dose of up to 75 µg of mercury by 3 months of age and 187.5 µg by 6 months of age could have been received. As a precautionary measure, the Academy, along with the American Academy of Family Physicians, the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, and the US Public Health Service issued a joint recommendation that thimerosal be removed from vaccines as quickly as possible.2,20 Currently, all vaccines in the recommended childhood immunization schedule do not contain thimerosal as a preservative.

In the United States, phenylmercury (phenylmercuric nitrate or acetate) was used in latex paint as a pesticide (to prevent mildew growth on walls) and as a paint preservative (to prevent paint discoloration from growth of microorganisms). Phenylmercury and ethylmercury continue to be used as bacteriostatic agents for various topical pharmacologic preparations. Dimethylmercury, a form of organic mercury used only in research laboratories, is highly toxic, causing death after extremely small exposures.21,22 Thimerosal used to irrigate the external auditory canals in a child with tympanostomy tubes has caused severe mercury poisoning.23

Absorption, Metabolism, and Excretion

Most organic mercury compounds are readily absorbed by ingestion and inhalation and through the skin, except for phenylmercury, which is not well absorbed after ingestion or dermal contact. In general, organic mercury compounds are lipid soluble, and 90% to 100% is absorbed from the gastrointestinal tract. They appear in the lipid fraction of blood and brain tissue. Organic mercury readily crosses the blood-brain barrier and also crosses the placenta. Fetal blood mercury levels are equal to or higher than maternal levels. Methylmercury appears in human milk. The mean half-life for methylmercury in blood is 40 to 50 days (range: 20-70 days) for adults.3,24 Ninety percent of methylmercury is excreted through bile in feces. Phenylmercury is rapidly metabolized. Its effects are similar to those of mercury salts.

Toxicity

The toxicity of organic mercury compounds is dependent on specific compound, route of exposure, dose, and age of the person at exposure. Organic mercury compounds are most toxic in the CNS, though the kidneys and immune system may also be affected.3,4,25 Generally, methylmercury and ethylmercury are more toxic than phenylmercury, because they are metabolized more slowly in vivo. Signs of toxicity from acute exposure progress from paresthesias and ataxia to generalized weakness, visual and hearing impairment, and tremor and muscle spasticity to coma and death.

In the developing brain, methylmercury is toxic to the cerebral and cerebellar cortex, causing focal necrosis of neurons and destruction of glial cells. Methylmercury is a known teratogen in the fetal brain; it interferes with neuronal migration and the organization of brain nuclei and layering of the cortical neurons. In the Minamata Bay disaster and the Iraq epidemic, mothers who were asymptomatic or showed mild toxic effects gave birth to severely affected infants. Typically, infants appeared normal at birth, but psychomotor retardation, blindness, deafness, and seizures developed throughout time.24

Because the fetus is more susceptible to the neurotoxic effects of methylmercury, investigators have sought to identify subclinical effects among children whose mothers' diets include large amounts of methylmercury and whose levels are higher than are commonly seen in the United States. There have been 3 extensive studies, including the Iraq seed grain cohort and 2 prospective epidemiologic studies, 1 in the Seychelles and 1 in the Faroe Islands. The Iraq study involved higher exposures and less sensitive measures of neurodevelopmental outcome, compared with the other 2 studies. In that study, motor retardation was seen in children whose mothers had hair mercury levels in the range of 10 to 20 parts per million (ppm).18,24,26

Studies were conducted in the Faroe Islands and Seychelles to obtain a prospective measure of mercury exposure to and toxicity in children. These 2 studies are providing important information for assessing the hazards of oral methylmercury exposure to children. The Faroe Islands are located southeast of Iceland in the Norwegian Sea. They are inhabited by a homogeneous and isolated population of people who consume small amounts of fish (1-3 meals of cod per week) and have episodic feasts of pilot whale. The fish have very low mercury concentrations, but pilot whale meat has a mean content of methylmercury of 1.9 ppm. The Faroe Islands study enrolled 700 mother and infant pairs at birth and monitored mercury levels in mothers' hair and cord blood, children's hair at 12 and 84 months of age, children's blood at 84 months of age, and neurodevelopmental measures of multifocal, domain-related effects in children at 84 months of age.27 The Seychelles are equatorial islands in the Indian Ocean inhabited by a stable, cohesive, and homogeneous population of people who eat fish frequently (mean, 12 fish meals per week). The fish have relatively low methylmercury concentrations (mean, < 0.3 ppm). The Seychelles study enrolled 740 mother and infant pairs at birth and monitored mercury levels in mothers' hair and in children's hair at 6, 19, and 66 months of age as well as standardized measures of global neurobehavioral function of children at these times.28

There are important similarities and differences between the 2 studies. Both studies included a range of oral mercury exposures that are very relevant to the US population. Mean mercury levels in mothers' hair were 6.8 ppm (range: 0.5-27 ppm) in the Seychelles and 4.3 ppm (range: 0.2-39.1 ppm) in the Faroe Islands. There are no population-based data for the United States, but most US population samples that have been analyzed fall below 1 ppm. The pattern of methylmercury consumption is different, with the Seychelles pattern being more constant and the Faroe Islands pattern being more episodic. Also, pilot whales consumed in the Faroe Islands contain not only methylmercury but also polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), which are known to have an adverse effect on neurodevelopment of children.29 The Faroe Islands study included measurements of PCB levels and controlled for PCBs as a potential confounding variable in addition to variables controlled for in both studies.

Results from the Faroe Islands study suggested that exposure in utero to mercury at lower levels is associated with subtle adverse effects on the developing brain (highest mercury levels in hair and cord blood were 39.1 ppm and 351 parts per billion, respectively). Memory, attention, and language tests were inversely associated with higher methylmercury exposures in children up to 7 years of age, even after controlling for PCB exposures.27 Motor function and visual spatial ability were less clearly associated with methylmercury exposure. Adverse effects on development or IQ have not been found in the Seychelles study at up to 66 months of age, although exposures were in the same range as the Faroe Islands study.28

A workshop convened by the White House in 1998 found that the Seychelles and Faroe Island studies were well-conducted prospective cohort studies that included appropriate measures of exposure to methylmercury and sensitive developmental endpoints.30 The workshop noted differences between findings in the studies in that, to date in the Seychelles study, effects have not been observed, whereas in the Faroe Islands study, effects have been observed at the same dosage levels. There are a number of potential explanations for this difference, including episodic versus continuous exposure, ethnic differences in response to methylmercury, or lack of common endpoints in the 2 studies as well as other differences, for example, lifestyle, nutrient intake, or contaminants found in seafood. Both studies measured and could control for a number of important lifestyle factors (ie, smoking, breastfeeding, alcohol use, and socioeconomic status). The Faroe Islands and Seychelles studies are continuing to follow the children throughout time and intend to provide a long-term developmental evaluation. In 1998, Congress directed the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) to carry out a study of methylmercury toxicity to provide recommendations on exposure limits.19 The study was completed in June 2000 and concluded that, at this time, results of the Faroe Islands study should be used to establish a reference dose for mercury of 0.1 µg/kg/d.

One question that is raised by the difference in findings between the Seychelles and Faroe Islands studies is whether bolus doses of methylmercury administered during sensitive time periods are more likely to cause neurodevelopmental damage than the same doses given cumulatively throughout a time period of several months. This is an issue that needs to be further evaluated in epidemiologic studies or toxicity experiments, because it cannot be resolved within these 2 studies alone.

Ethylmercury, although it may have similar toxicity to methylmercury, has been less studied. When vaccines containing thimerosal have been administered in recommended doses, hypersensitivity has been noted.31 Very high exposures to thimerosal-containing products—as components of intramuscular injections, used for painting omphaloceles, as a preservative in -globulin administered at high-doses or for a long period of time, or as intentionally ingested—have resulted in toxicity, including acrodynia, chronic mercury toxicity, renal failure, and neuropathy.32-36 In an assay of chronic effects in rats, ethylmercury exposure resulted in renal and neurotoxicity in mature rats similar to exposure to methylmercury.37 Follow-up studies in infants on the neurodevelopmental toxicity of ethylmercury in vaccines were done by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) using data from the Vaccine Safety Datalink project. The first study, which was based on the medical records of 2 managed care organizations, indicated some correlation between the amount of mercury received in vaccines and the reported diagnoses of language delays, speech delays, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, unspecified developmental delays, and tics. A subsequent study of the medical records from a third managed care organization failed to find these correlations. These 2 studies used data not collected to evaluate these specific hypotheses and were not conclusive. Additional studies are now in progress to further evaluate this issue.38 However, although such postmarket studies can provide information about the occurrence of frank developmental delays, they would not be expected to detect small subclinical alterations in cognitive function that were reported in the Faroe Islands study.

Phenylmercury is less toxic than methylmercury and ethylmercury. Exposure to phenylmercury has resulted in acrodynia in about 1 per 1000 exposed children. When phenylmercuric acetate was used as a fungicide in latex paint, children who were heavily exposed to painted rooms developed severe acrodynia.16,17 Consequently, this compound is no longer used in latex paints in the United States.

DIAGNOSIS OF MERCURY POISONING

Diagnosis of mercury poisoning is usually made by obtaining a complete history and performing a physical examination. In addition, laboratory tests may demonstrate increased mercury levels. Background blood mercury levels, however, do not exclude mercury poisoning, because it has a relatively short half-life in blood.

Elemental Mercury

Increased mercury vapor concentrations can be measured in exhaled air from people with dental amalgams, but the biological significance is uncertain. Also unclear is the significance of the slight increase in urinary mercury excretion detected after dental amalgams are placed.

Inorganic Mercury

Inorganic mercury exposure can be measured by determining urinary mercury concentration, preferably using a 24-hour urine collection. Results greater than 10 to 20 µg/L are evidence of excessive exposure, and neurologic signs may be present at values greater than 100 µg/L. However, urinary mercury concentration also does not necessarily correlate with chronicity or severity of toxic effects, especially if the mercury exposure has been intermittent or variable in intensity. Whole blood mercury concentration can be measured, but values tend to return to normal (20 µg/L) within 1 to 2 days after the exposure to metallic mercury vapor ends.

Organic Mercury

Although methylmercury can be measured in blood or hair specimens, collection of specimens requires special mercury-free collection materials and rigorous control of contamination. Such testing is usually conducted in a research setting. In the general population, the mercury level in hair is usually 1 ppm or less.

TREATMENT

The most important and most effective treatment involves identifying the mercury source and ending the exposure. Children who have had mercury poisoning should undergo periodic follow-up neurologic examinations by a pediatrician.

Elemental and Inorganic Mercury

Mercury accumulates in the blood, CNS, and renal tissues and is very slowly eliminated. Severe or symptomatic mercury poisoning can be treated by chelation therapy, but whether it decreases toxic effects or speeds recovery in people who have been poisoned is unclear. Indications for chelation therapy after mercury intoxication are not firmly established.39 However, chelation therapy is typically reserved for those with evidence of a large mercury burden demonstrated by biological monitoring (eg, measurement in hair, urine, or blood) or clinical manifestations of severe poisoning. Elimination of elemental and inorganic mercury is greatly enhanced by chelating agents, including succimer, D-penicillamine, and dimercaptopropanesulfonate. Chelating agents increase urinary mercury excretion, but their efficacy is uncertain. Severe mercury poisoning should be treated by or in consultation with a physician who has experience in this area.

Organic Mercury

There is no chelating agent approved by the FDA that is effective for methylmercury or ethylmercury poisoning. Chelation has been used in cases of severe intoxication. Compared with other forms of mercury, organic mercury is significantly more resistant to removal from the body. Moreover, chelation therapy for organic mercury intoxication can be harmful; the agent dimercaprol appears to increase brain mercury concentrations and is contraindicated in the treatment of organic mercury poisoning. The chelator proven to be most effective in the treatment of severe organic mercury poisoning is succimer.40 Recent data have also identified a role for the drug N-acetylcysteine in the chelation therapy for methylmercury poisoning.41

PREVENTION

Many mercury compounds are no longer sold in the United States. Organic mercury fungicides, including phenylmercury (once used in latex paints), are no longer licensed for commercial use. Electronic equipment has replaced many mercury-containing oral thermometers and sphygmomanometers in medical settings. Inorganic salts have limited use as antiseptics, although thimerosal is still available. Recently, the American Hospital Association agreed to phase out mercury use by its members. The purpose is to prevent pollution from mercury emissions from medical waste incinerators, because most of the mercury that is used in hospitals is likely to end up in the waste stream.

The amount of mercury in a single thermometer is usually insufficient to produce clinically significant exposure when ingested. However, the vapor can be absorbed; children, therefore, should not play with metallic mercury. Sporadic cases of acrodynia have resulted from children playing on carpet contaminated by metallic mercury. Once a carpet is contaminated, cleanup can be very difficult, and contaminated carpeting usually must be discarded. In the event of an elemental mercury spill, it is advisable to use a mercury spill kit. If no spill kit is available, parents can use paper to clean the spill, disposing of the material in 2 plastic bags. Vacuuming, which only disperses and volatizes the metal droplets, should be avoided. A parent can call local or state environmental health agencies for assistance. If a significant spill occurs, for example, several cubic centimeters, then consultation with a certified environmental cleaning company is advised.

Most regulatory standards and advisories pertain to the workplace. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has established a standard limit for mercury in drinking water of 2 µg/L, and the FDA has established a standard limit for mercury in bottled drinking water of 2 µg/L. Although there are no regulatory standards for home air, the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) suggests that acceptable residential air mercury levels should not exceed 0.05 µg/m3.42

In recent years, several agencies have been working toward reducing methylmercury exposure via food consumption. Guidelines for maximum exposure to mercury have been established by the EPA at 0.1 µg/kg/d,6 by the FDA at 0.4 µg/kg/d,43 and by the ATSDR at 0.3 µg/kg/d.44 These 3 guidelines, which were developed before publication of NAS recommendations, are based on extrapolations from blood or hair concentrations of mercury in pregnant women and information about the pharmacokinetics of methylmercury to calculate maximum daily oral intakes of methylmercury during pregnancy that were not associated with measurable adverse outcomes in children. These guidelines are not a "bright line" above which levels are dangerous and below which they are safe. Rather, they incorporate uncertainty factors that attempt to ensure a margin of safety between the guideline level and the level at which there would be any harm. The differences in guidelines reflect differences in the studies chosen for calculations of allowable doses as well as differences in judgment about the degree of uncertainty ascribed to variability within the human species. All 3 agencies attempted to incorporate all of the available scientific data. The Iraq study formed the primary basis for the FDA and EPA assessments, which were conducted before publication of the other 2 studies. The 1999 ATSDR assessment was primarily based on the Seychelles study. The NAS recommendation to adopt a reference dose of 0.1 µg/kg/d is under consideration by all 3 agencies.

In March 2001, the CDC reported levels of mercury in blood and hair in a representative sample of the US population.45 The geometric mean blood mercury levels were 0.3 µg/L for children 1 to 5 years old and 1.2 µg/L for women 16 to 49 years old. Hair mercury levels followed a similar pattern. These mercury levels are primarily a measure of methylmercury. Although the survey could not estimate levels in children with unusual exposure patterns (like high consumption of mercury-contaminated fish), the CDC concluded that children in the general population are well within a safe range for methylmercury exposure. However, the CDC noted many women of childbearing age have mercury levels that are of concern for exposure to the fetus, highlighting the need to reduce methylmercury exposures among women in the general population.

The FDA has set an advisory limit for methylmercury in commercial fish of 1 ppm (1 µg/g)46 (http://www.cfsan.fda.gov/~dms/mercury.htm). Also in March 2001, the FDA recommended that pregnant women and women of childbearing age should avoid consumption of shark, mackerel, swordfish, and tilefish. Other persons (including children and nursing mothers) should limit consumption of shark, swordfish, and other fish that contain more than 1 ppm mercury to no more than about 7 ounces per week (about 1 serving). For other types of fish, including tuna, the FDA has advised that consumption by children and pregnant women be kept below 12 ounces per week.47 In some areas of the United States, certain fresh water species (eg, walleye, pike, muskie, and bass) have higher levels of mercury that would result in higher mercury intakes from a meal of fish. Most state health agencies advise limiting intake of freshwater sport fish having mercury concentrations of more than 0.2 to 1 ppm. Current state fish consumption advisories can be found on the EPA Web site (http://www.epa.gov/OST/fish/).

The risks of exposure to methylmercury from fish have to be balanced with the health benefits of eating fish. Fish is a source of high-quality protein as well as unsaturated fatty acids and other beneficial nutrients. For some populations, locally caught fish may be the only good alternative for a nutritious diet. If fish with lower mercury levels are available, then it is prudent to substitute these rather than eat fish that have methylmercury advisories or commercial fish, such as swordfish and tuna, which are known to have higher mercury levels.

As a precautionary measure, ethylmercury in vaccines is being reduced or eliminated from vaccine preparations as quickly as manufacturers can alter their production processes and obtain FDA approval for the reformulated materials. Currently, all vaccines in the recommended childhood immunization schedule do not contain thimerosal as a preservative.

Newer enclosed methods for preparing mercury amalgams have decreased the likelihood of mercury spillage and exposure during dental amalgam preparation. Although Sweden has banned amalgam for use as a dental restorative and other northern European countries are considering doing so, to date, the conclusion in the United States is that the risks are very low and that the available substitutes are not superior. There are a variety of materials, such as composite resins, stainless steel, and gold that do not contain mercury and are approved for use in dental restorations in children. In the specific case of large caries on the occlusal surfaces of molars that do not require a gold or steel crown, there are 4 composite resins currently accepted by the American Dental Association.48 The chief disadvantage of the resins is their decreased long-term stability. Successful restoration of caries is very dependent on technique, and most dentists have far less experience with these materials than with amalgam. Resins probably do not last as long as amalgam, even when placed expertly. Median life for amalgam fillings is approximately 15 years, whereas composites reportedly last 4 to 5 years.48 As with amalgam, no long-term studies have been done on composites other than those on their performance as dental material. If parents are extremely concerned about the issue, they can take their children to a dental center that uses resins in children on a regular basis. Because of technique sensitivity, restorations done by inexperienced practitioners may lead to early failure with subsequent loss of tooth material and the possibility of infection and tooth loss. The safety of the chemicals used for resin has not been established in children.

CONCLUSIONS

Mercury in all of its forms is toxic to the fetus and children, and efforts should be made to reduce exposure to the extent possible to pregnant women and children as well as the general population. Pediatricians can contribute to the effort of decreasing the amount of mercury in the waste stream by phasing out mercury-containing devices, such as thermometers and sphygmomanometers, from their offices and other medical facilities and encouraging parents to remove mercury thermometers from their homes.

Inorganic and elemental mercury should not be present in the home or other environments of children. Pediatricians need to be aware of traditional folk uses of mercury like in Santeria or in ethnic remedies and work sensitively with such families, who may initially be unwilling to discuss such factors with physicians and with people outside of their cultural group. Public health agencies, community organizations, pediatricians, and other child health providers should work together to identify the diverse cultural practices that may lead to mercury exposure.

The most important source of methylmercury exposure is fish consumption by the mother before or during gestation and by young children. Parents can reduce methylmercury exposure to their children by limiting the amount of fish with high mercury content consumed during pregnancy and lactation and amounts eaten by children. Recreational and subsistence fishers need to heed warnings and advisories from state health departments not only about mercury but also about other contaminants, such as PCBs, in fish.

As part of an ongoing review of biological products in response to the Food and Drug Administration Modernization Act of 1997, the FDA is reviewing the use of mercury in biological products and pharmaceutical preparations. It would seem prudent for the FDA to carefully examine all uses of mercury in pharmaceuticals, particularly pharmaceuticals that are used by infants and pregnant women. The FDA is working with the pharmaceutical industry and the medical community to decrease or eliminate exposures to mercury in vaccines and other products.

* A reference dose is a dosage of a chemical that has been determined to be safe on the basis of available toxicity information. Reference doses are used to provide a basis for establishing safety standards and guidelines.

COMMITTEE ON ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH, 2000-2001

Sophie J. Balk, MD, Chairperson

Benjamin A. Gitterman, MD

Mark D. Miller, MD, MPH

Michael W. Shannon, MD, MPH

Katherine M. Shea, MD, MPH

William B. Weil, MD

LIAISONS

Susan K. Cummins, MD

  Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Steven Galson, MD, MPH

  Environmental Protection Agency

Martha Linet, MD

  National Cancer Institute

Robert W. Miller, MD

  National Cancer Institute

Walter Rogan, MD

  National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences

SECTION LIAISON

Barbara Coven, MD

  Section on Community Pediatrics

CONSULTANTS

Ruth A. Etzel, MD, PhD

Lynn R. Goldman, MD, MPH

STAFF

Lauri A. Hall

• REFERENCES

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Clarkson TW. Mercury: major issues in environmental health. Environ Health Perspect. 1993;100:3138

Clarkson TW. The toxicology of mercury. Crit Rev Clin Lab Sci. 1997;34:369403

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US Environmental Protection Agency. Mercury Study Report to Congress. Washington, DC: US Environmental Protection Agency; 1997

Hoover AW, Goldwater LJ. Absorption and excretion of mercury in man. X. Dental amalgams as a source of urinary mercury. Arch Environ Health. 1966;12:506508

Campbell D, Gonzales M, Sullivan JB Jr. Mercury. In: Sullivan JB Jr, Krieger GR, eds. Hazardous Materials Toxicology_Clinical Principles of Environmental Health. Baltimore, MD: Williams & Wilkins; 1992:824833

Vimy MJ, Lorscheider FL. Serial measurements of intraoral air mercury: estimation of daily dose from dental amalgam. J Dent Res. 1985;64:10721075

Vimy MJ, Lorscheider FL. Intraoral air mercury released from dental amalgam. J Dent Res. 1985;64:10691071

Reinhardt JW, Boyer DB, Svare CW, Frank CW, Cox RD, Gay DD. Exhaled mercury following removal and insertion of amalgam restorations. J Prosthet Dent. 1983;49:652656

Weiner JA, Nylander M, Berglund F. Does mercury from amalgam restorations constitute a health hazard? Sci Total Environ. 1990;99:122

US Public Health Service, Committee to Coordinate Environmental Health and Related Programs, Subcommittee on Risk Management. Dental Amalgam: A Scientific Review and Recommended Public Health Service Strategy for Research, Education, and Regulation. Washington, DC: US Public Health Service; 1993

Cheek D. Acrodynia. In: Kelley V, ed. Brenneman's Practice of Pediatrics. New York, NY: Harper & Row Publishers; 1977:112

Gotelli CA, Astolfi E, Cox C, Cernichiari E, Clarkson TW. Early biochemical effects of an organic mercury fungicide on infants: "dose makes the poison." Science. 1985;227:638640

Agocs MA, Etzel RA, Parrish RG, et al. Mercury exposure from interior latex paint. N Engl J Med. 1990;323:10961101

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Bakir F, Damluji SF, AminZaki L, et al. Methylmercury poisoning in Iraq. Science. 1973;181:230241

National Academy of Sciences, Committee on the Toxicological Effects of Methylmercury. Toxicological Effects of Methylmercury. Washington, DC: National Academy Press; 2000

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Summary of the joint statement on thimerosal in vaccines. American Academy of Family Physicians, American Academy of Pediatrics, Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, Public Health Service. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep. 2000;49:622,631

Nierenberg DW, Nordgren RE, Chang MB, et al. Delayed cerbellar disease and death after accidental exposure to dimethylmercury. N Engl J Med. 1998;338:16721676

Kulig K. A tragic reminder about organic mercury. N Engl J Med. 1998;338:16921694

Rohyans J, Walson PD, Wood GA, MacDonald WA. Mercury toxicity following Merthiolate ear irrigations. J Pediatr. 1984;104:311313

AminZaki L, Elhassani S, Majeed MA, Clarkson TW, Doherty RA, Greenwood M. Intrauterine methylmercury poisoning in Iraq. Pediatrics. 1974;54:587595

Shenker BJ, Guo TL, Shapiro IM. Lowlevel methylmercury exposure causes human Tcells to undergo apoptosis: evidence of mitochondrial dysfunction. Environ Res. 1998;77:149159

AminZaki L, Majeed MA, Elhassani SB, Clarkson TW, Greenwood MR, Doherty RA. Prenatal methylmercury poisoning. Clinical observations over five years. Am J Dis Child. 1979;133:172177

Grandjean P, Weihe P, White RF, et al. Cognitive deficit in 7yearold children with prenatal exposure to methylmercury. Neurotoxicol Teratol. 1997;19:417428

Davidson PW, Myers GJ, Cox C, et al. Effects of prenatal and postnatal methylmercury exposure from fish consumption on neurodevelopment: outcomes at 66 months of age in the Seychelles Child Development Study. JAMA. 1998;280:701707

Jacobson JL, Jacobson SW. Intellectual impairment in children exposed to polychlorinated biphenyls in utero. N Engl J Med. 1996;335:783789

Office of Science and Technology Policy, Committee on Environmental and Natural Resources. Report of the methylmercury workshop. Paper presented at: Workshop on Scientific Issues Relevant to Assessment of Health Effects From Exposure to Methylmercury; November 1820, 1998; Raleigh, NC. Available at: http://ntpserver.niehs.nih.gov/main_pages/PUBS/MethMercWkshpRpt.html. Accessed August 21, 2000

Cox NH, Forsyth A. Thiomersal allergy and vaccination reactions. Contact Dermatitis. 1988;18:229233

Axton JH. Six cases of poisoning after a parenteral organic mercurial compound (Merthiolate). Postgrad Med J. 1972;48:417421

Fagan DG, Pritchard JS, Clarkson TW, Greenwood MR. Organ mercury levels in infants with omphaloceles treated with organic mercurial antiseptic. Arch Dis Child. 1977;52:962964

Lowell JA, Burgess S, Shenoy S, Peters M, Howard TK. Mercury poisoning associated with hepatitisB immunoglobulin [letter]. Lancet. 1996;347:480

Matheson DS, Clarkson TW, Gelfand EW. Mercury toxicity (acrodynia) induced by longterm injection of gammaglobulin. J Pediatr. 1980;97:153155

Pfab R, Muckter H, Roider G, Zilker T. Clinical course of severe poisoning with thiomersal. J Toxicol Clin Toxicol. 1996;34:453460

Magos L, Brown AW, Sparrow S, Bailey E, Snowden RT, Skipp WR. The comparative toxicology of ethyl and methylmercury. Arch Toxicol. 1985;57:260267

Joint statement of the American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP), the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP), and the US Public Health Service (PHS). June 22, 2000. Available at: http://www.aap.org/policy/JOINTthim.html. Accessed August 21, 2000

Baum CR. Treatment of mercury intoxication. Curr Opin Pediatr. 1999;11:265268

Bates BA. Mercury. In: Haddad LM, Shannon MW, Winchester JF, eds. Clinical Management of Poisoning and Drug Overdose. 3rd ed. Philadelphia, PA: WB Saunders; 1998:750756

Ballatori N, Lieberman MW, Wang W. Nacetylcysteine as an antidote in methylmercury poisoning. Environ Health Perspect. 1998;106:267271

Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry. Mercury toxicity. Case Studies in Environmental Medicine. Vol 17. Atlanta, GA: US Public Health Service; 1992

Tollefson L, Cordle F. Methylmercury in fish: a review of residue levels, fish consumption and regulatory action in the United States. Environ Health Perspect. 1986;68:203208

Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry. Toxicological Profile for Mercury. Atlanta, GA: US Public Health Service; 1999

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Blood and hair mercury levels in young children and women of child bearing age_United States, 1999. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep. 2001;50:3,140143

Yess NJ. US Food and Drug Administration survey of methylmercury in canned tuna. J AOAC Int. 1993;76:3638

Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition, US Food and Drug Administration. An important message for pregnant women and women of childbearing age who may become pregnant about the risks of mercury in fish. Available at: http://vm.cfsan.fda.gov/~dms/admehg.html. Accessed April 11, 2001

        American Dental Association, Council on Dental Materials, Instruments, and Equipment. Posterior composite resins. J Am Dent Assoc. 1986;112:707709

Fig 1.  Sources of mercury and its conversion to organic mercury compounds.

----------------

The recommendations in this statement do not indicate an exclusive course of treatment or serve as a standard of medical care. Variations, taking into account individual circumstances, may be appropriate.

____________________

Some links for the violated babies suffering from a combination of medical mistreatment, can be found at:   www:ironoverload.org/anemia.htm

Donna's comments on Iron toxicity.  

    Juandice is the first symptom of a blood disorder.  Iron overload means the iron was in excess because too many of the baby's red cells died by suffocation.  This was likely caused by the use of oxytocin. The man-made drug causes hard, long, and too close together labor contractions. The mothers cannot breathe.  First time mothers do not recognize they were violated, and sometimes they are drugged also with morphine.  Often oxytocin is imposed on the mother when the baby's head is being born...this is then followed by mandatory early cord clamping, for fear the placenta will be trapped in the womb. The medical persons then want to pull on the cord, to pull out the placenta and press on the mother's stomach.  This is directed by the World Health Organization,as controlled contraction. It often leads to an inverted womb, and more medical surgery. Higher profits to the hospital, too.  

The mother is risked to the placenta bursting, requiring further drugs and medications.  All the bigger profits to the hospital and the drug companies..who often write the medical manuals or participate in it in the medical teaching directions, and governed by doctors with conflict of interest in these drug corporations.

The drugs were toxic that were given the mother during her labor and during the birth of the baby. All drugs cross the placenta...and instantly.

There is no beneficial jaudice to babies. That's has been a lie, one of the myths of medicine.  The babies look like they have too much blood, causing the jaudice.  Not so. The doctors can know and most do, that babies have too little blood after hasty clamping, and too many dead red cells leaving excess iron overflowing from the liver..too much for it to stored in the spleen. The baby will take two weeks, if not longer, to recreate the low blood volume and pressure.

Replacing the deprived blood, according to Policy #71, December by SOGC, can be up to 6 months.   Sometimes the doctors take the baby out of the delivery room, and give it, without informed consent, blood expanders. You have to check the billing records for all what was done to the baby, and what the medical codes mean.  Blood expanders are to hopefully avoid the collapse of blood vessels, causing apnea (seizures).

The baby is yet anemic...even with excess iron in the body. Blood expanders, like Ringer's Lactate, is not the same as the baby's whole nutritious blood now in some test tube.

The baby, now with low blood volume and anemic, at the same time, yet with excess iron, is very deficient now in the deprived amino acids, vitamins and minerals, hormones and enzymes...that are going to be distributed by the drug companies.  Drug companies and stem cell research corporations are working in harmony with the Hospital's Administration Boards and their labs, many of them private labs, that are harvesting our babies for profits.

Then, there are the stem cell research grants given out, and where did the stem cells come from...adults, no our living babies. Some still borns are used and the aborted babies.

Our living babies were robbed at birth by participating medical persons, including the nurses and the midwives.  What the medical persons have done is they have left us with a "living" baby.  All will struggle with this baby.  Autism: Over $500 Million from the Canadian Government is being sought in Manitoba. $100 million in Ontario.  $60,000 in BC, per year, per child.

Who is participating in harming our babies?  Can counter suits to the drug and medical persons be far behind?  This financial distress now is a burden on the Canadian tax payer, and unjustly so.  Those that were responsible all have assets. It is time we hit the pocket books on those that reaped the profits by injuring internally the babies, many now adults, in the millions, with a variety of internal organs, all likely traceable to birth breaches of trust.

What of the deprivation of the child's right to Genius that was deprived these babies. Even corporations sue for expectations of profits, if wrongfully deprived. That was such an example of such a suit, when Canada settled with an American firm over the MMT issue.  The issue was not that MMT was harmful, as an additive in most gas.  But the Prime Minister of Canada, didn't want the USA bringing their toxins into Canada.......when we had our own gas companies adding this MMT additive to gas, alleged harmful. To quote:

    Ethyl Corporation’s $251 million lawsuit against a new Canadian environmental law is sure to set off alarm bells throughout the public interest world. The suit, brought under the terms of the North American Free Trade Agreement, demonstrates how present and future international economic pacts could pose a danger to environmental regulations and other safeguards.

    In early April, the Canadian Parliament acted to ban the import and interprovincial transport of an Ethyl product -- the gasoline additive MMT -- which Canada considers to be a dangerous toxin. Ethyl (the company that invented leaded gasoline) responded on April 14 by filing a lawsuit against the Canadian government under NAFTA. Ethyl claims that the Canadian ban on MMT violates various provisions of NAFTA and seeks restitution of $251 million to cover losses resulting from the "expropriation" of both its MMT production plant and its "good reputation."

http://www.globalpolicy.org/socecon/envronmt/ethyl.htm

    Conclusion:   Rather than face a messy scrap, the government paid a reported $20-million settlement to Ethyl Corp., wrote a letter of apology and agreed to withdraw the ban on MMT. As a result, it is still counted as one of the many chemicals added to the gasoline we pump today.  (emphasis added by OCA)

    In 1998, the CCPA (Canadian Centre for Policy Alternative) posed the following questions: "Given the hard reality, where should the burden of proof lie? Should it reside with those who rightly fear the addition of yet another neurotoxin to our environment? Or should it lie with those who want to add it for commercial gain?"

Makes you think, doesn't it? This is an issue that desperately needs revisiting, and by all concerned.

OCA editor's note: as a direct result of NAFTA (the North American Free Trade agreement between US, Canada and Mexico), this toxin is still being used in Canada - and the company that manufactures it received a $20 million payoff from the Canadian government. The proposed FTAA (Free Trade Area of the Americas) for the Western Hemisphere follows the NAFTA model and allows private corporations to sue nations for lost profits. That's one of the main reasons OCA vigorously opposes FTAA.  

   http://www.organicconsumers.org/Corp/CanadaMMT.cfm

ANOTHER'S OPINION:

In a final cruel irony the $13 million US ($19.5 million Canadian) compensation payment to Ethyl for lost profits and legal costs exceeds the total 1998 Environment Canada budget for enforcement and compliance programmes ($16.9 million Canadian). The government will also issue a statement to the effect that the manganese-based additive is neither an environmental nor a health risk which, of course, Ethyl will use to market MMT internationally.

With all we know about lead, manganese and other heavy metal poisoning why are we running one more collective experiment on our kids when safer alternatives to MMT exist and are widely used in the US? How did we end up in this sorry situation? The answer to that question is a long and involved, but ultimately very instructive, little Canadian vignette.

This story has two basic themes. On the one hand we have to go back to the 1920s and trace the role of Ethyl Corp. in bringing us first lead anti-knock gasoline additives and then MMT. On the other hand we need to go back to November 1993, when the Chretien government-to-be worked so hard to make sure NAFTA came to Canada.

In 1923, lead was introduced into gasoline by the Ethyl Corporation in a joint venture with General Motors, Standard Oil of New Jersey, and DuPont. The toxicity of lead had been well established for 100 years, but GM wanted to put lead in gas in order to compete with the Ford Motor Company. GM had developed a more powerful gasoline engine than Ford, but the engine tended to "knock" because of its higher compression. Lead stopped the knocking. Ethanol, made from agricultural crops, could have done the job. But ethanol occupies up to 10 percent of the gas tank and the oil companies were not about to give away that share of their market to US farmers. Instead they chose to put a few drops of lead into each gallon of gas.{HYPERLINK "http://www.cela.ca/Intervenor/23_3/23_3ethyl.htm" \l "N_1_"} ¹
http://www.ukar.org/mmt/mmt01.html

LEAD:

"... when GM and its big chemical partner Du Pont (Du Pont also makes the instant umbilical cutting tool, Umbicut) announced in 1924 that they were launching a venture called the Ethyl Corporation to manufacture and market tetraethyl lead (TEL), a major outcry from scientists, public-health specialists, and labor leaders ensued. That same year, a terrible disaster among workers at an experimental TEL plant operated by Standard Oil of New Jersey left at least five dead and thirty-five others suffering from tremors, palsies, and hallucinations-the neurological symptoms of lead poisoning. The press soon dubbed the substance "loony gas."

The question was, What would this stuff do to the public at large? Those scientists not already in the employ of the automobile or petrochemical industries expressed horror at the prospect of hundreds of thousands of pounds of lead getting released directly into the air of American cities. But the officials at Ethyl felt differently and argued that the levels of lead in the air would be too low to affect anyone. One company representative told a special conference convened by the U.S. surgeon general that TEL was an "apparent gift of God." At a news conference, Midgley dramatically illustrated how safe TEL would be for workers to handle, when he instructed an attendant to bring him some pure tetraethyl lead, in which he proceeded to wash his hands. "I'm not taking any chance whatever," he announced to reporters who were present. "Nor would I take any chance doing that every day." What Midgley did not care to mention was that, only the year before, he had to take a prolonged leave from work in order to recover from lead poisoning.

After all sides had been heard from, including those who warned that leaded gas would severely endanger the public, the government chose to side with Ethyl.

Seven decades later, lead contamination has spread to virtually every corner of the planet, with vehicle emissions blamed for an estimated 80 percent of it. There is no longer much debate over lead's deleterious nature. Even at very low levels, it is known to cause irreversible brain damage, developmental problems, and behavioral abnormalities in children. But since TEL had been eliminated from most U.S. gasoline over the past seventeen years, its story would mainly be of historical interests, were it not for the two little-known facts.

First, the Ethyl Corporation quietly continues to manufacture up to sixty million pounds of TEL a year at a plant in Canada, and, along with two other operations, sells the toxic additive throughout the Third World. Lead levels in many places, including Mexico City and Jakarta, have reached alarming levels, threatening an entire generation of people with serious central-nervous-system damage.

http://www.redflagsweekly.com/poisonwind.html

We see how easy it is for organized corporation to settle their grievances. Can we do any less for the individual, for financial compensation, so wronged at birth?

What might have been these babies' fullest potential..as nature intended them to be?  Not one hair on their head ought to have been disarranged. Not one drop of blood deprived.  How might their learning and remembering have been eased, and not such a struggle to learn, or in delayed manner of three or four years, like Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS) children are so delayed in their abilities, as well?

Life is a struggle as it is.  Why make life more difficult by doing unnecessary medical intervention on any baby. This is regardless of sex, color, race, social position of the family, or whether there is any evidence of mental or physical disadvantage?  Babies should not be harvested.  Babies should not be exploited.

AND WHAT OF BABIES AND MERCURY POISONING?:

Press Release- 07/11/01  Generation of Toxic Mercury Overdose Babies Turn to Courts for Protection and Relief

http://www.wdolaw.com/Press/071101.htm

    "In a separate lawsuit also filed today, George and Victoria Mead, the parents of William Mead, are seeking damages after their then toddler received a double-dose of his routine vaccination schedule last year and started showing symptoms that would later be diagnosed as mercury poisoning and autism. William Mead's physician actually administered three mercury overdoses after the AAP guidelines were issued, all without any warning to the parents. The Meads have been informed by medical experts that it will cost nearly $5 million dollars to treat and care for William over his lifetime."

    "We simply do not want another family to live through the hell that mercury overdosing has brought to our doorstep," said George Mead. "That's why those who are responsible must be held accountable by a jury of their peers."   http://www.whale.to/m/merc1.html

_____________________________

Links on Hep B Vaccinations and more at:   http://www.gentlebirth.org/archives/newhepb.html

Conclusion:  

• Babies must not be weakened of their natural strength by being exploited and by being harvested by umbilical cord clamping and cutting.
• Babies must not be poisoned with toxins that are injected into their bodies, breathed into their lungs from the air, or consumed in their foods and beverages.  
• The mothers must not be used to produce raw materials -- blood of their babies -- for a corporation's or an individual's personal gain.
• It is everyone's duty to protect the mothers and our babies -- our future and true heritage.
  ______________

shared from:  www.lotusbirth.com/doc/FEB2003Lotusbirth-477.htm

Search this www.lotusbirth.com web site for :  AAP policy on umbilical cord clamping ;  SOGC policy, ACOG policy; Placenta; Fetus to Neonate Circulation; 30-second clamping; World Health Organization and Dupont ; Circumcision ; Dr. Sarah Buckley's Declaration ; Canadian Criminal Codes and when a baby is a person; and any other subject you may be interested in child birth.  Search Lotus birth

Note:   PETITION     www.thepetitionsite.com/takeaction/102580814

Please ask this site to have a Medical Alert Petition Site: petitions@earth.case2.com

We need support, Internationally, to help Canada correct or investigate present training of all medical persons who will or intend to be at a mother's birth.

We need support for informed choices, of both parents, that our babies are not being harvested by methods of Active Management.

(Reference from Protect Babies http://www.123-baby-birth.com)   Search at Google this web site for the " No Policies " on equal protection to babies at from the various government officials who appointed representatives to protect the public on medical policies and practices; also the "No policies" of the various medical associations, societies, and colleges did not live up to no form of discrimination to women or to the child of any kind.  It is implied and the purpose of their organizations existence for all Medical Associations  to have had a duty to provide for informed choice, no militancy of care and service, the right for the mother to reject drugs and to any umbilical cord clamping (they can do that themselves any time, if done at all -other wise the motive is the medical persons are doing blood harvesting from "their" baby ;  and to honour the Nation's Laws, and Rule of Law, that provides for individual equal protection and security of person.  This is regardless of:  age, mental or physical disadvantages ; race, color, social or marital status of the pregnant lady ; or belief or faith of the family, or genetic type of blood sought for by medical researchers, for stem cell matching, and use of white cells, mature red cells, platelets, enzymes, hormones, and plasma.

contact:   Donna Young, Mother and Grandmother

Home:   www.lotusbirth.com

References of research:   www.lotusbirth.com/doc/FEB2003Lotusbirth-110.htm

A medical web site to visit:  

  www.cordclamping.com

Note:   PETITION     www.thepetitionsite.com/takeaction/102580814

Please ask this site to have a Medical Alert Petition Site: petitions@earth.case2.com