Abstract
Monomethyl and dimethylmercury are potent neurotoxins subject to biomagnification in food webs. This fact was tragically demonstrated by the Minamata and Niigata poisoning incidents in Japan in which 168 persons who ate seafood from mercury polluted waters were poisoned, 52 fatally. Shortly after these two incidents, work conducted in freshwater environments demonstrated the microbial conversion of inorganic and phenylmercury compounds to mono- and di-methylmercury. Consideration of some fragmentary evidence from the literature, however, indicates that the rate and the significance of microbial methylation of mercury in freshwater and saltwater environments may not be the same. A demonstrated relationship between mercury methylation rates and water salinity would greatly influence our thinking about mercury pollution effects in marine versus freshwater environments. Since we were unable to locate published reports on this subject, we are investigating the influence of salinity on the rate of mercury methylation in an estuarine sediment.
Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callMore From: Bulletin of environmental contamination and toxicology
Disclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
