Mercury is a neurotoxin. Outbreaks of methyl mercury poisonings have made it clear that adults, children, and developing fetuses are at risk from ingestion exposure to mercury. When mothers with no symptoms of nervous system damage gave birth to infants with severe disabilities, it became clear that the developing nervous system of the fetus may be more vulnerable to methyl mercury than is the adult nervous system.
The most common way people are exposed to any form of mercury is by eating fish containing methyl mercury. Other exposures include breaking products containing elemental mercury…