How does someone get mercury poisoning?!
Question: If you swallowed the mercury in a fever thermometer, you would not suffer. Elemental mercury is not highly toxic when the exposure is short-term. . However as it vaporizes, the fumes may cause toxicity. But many organic and inorganic mercury compounds are poisonous. Vapors from nearby foundries can be toxic. Certain occupations increase exposure to mercury compounds. Classic example is the "Mad Hatter" in Alice in Wonderland. Hatters used mercury compounds to stiffen the felt.
Answers: If you swallowed the mercury in a fever thermometer, you would not suffer. Elemental mercury is not highly toxic when the exposure is short-term. . However as it vaporizes, the fumes may cause toxicity. But many organic and inorganic mercury compounds are poisonous. Vapors from nearby foundries can be toxic. Certain occupations increase exposure to mercury compounds. Classic example is the "Mad Hatter" in Alice in Wonderland. Hatters used mercury compounds to stiffen the felt.
Long term exposure to mercury...
Short term, ingesting mercury or eating things that have mercury in them.
the easy way is from fish,watch out!!
It gets in your body through touching it, it will get in through your little cuts (if you have any). Also, it can poison you if you eat it ofcourse.
Mercury poisoning is caused by sufficient exposure to elemental mercury or mercury compounds. The consumption of fish is by far the most significant source of ingestion-related mercury exposure in humans, although plants and livestock also contain mercury due to bioaccumulation of mercury from soil, water and atmosphere, and due to biomagnification by ingesting other mercury-containing organisms. Exposure to mercury can occur from breathing contaminated air,[4] or from improper use or disposal of mercury and mercury-containing objects, for example, after spills of elemental mercury or improper disposal of fluorescent light bulbs.
Human-generated sources such as coal plants emit approximately half of atmospheric mercury, with natural sources such as volcanoes responsible for the remainder. An estimated two-thirds of human-generated mercury comes from stationary combustion, mostly of coal. Other important human-generated sources include gold production, non-ferrous metal production, cement production, waste disposal, crematoria, caustic soda production, pig iron and steel production, mercury production (mostly for batteries), and biomass burning.
Mercury and many of its chemical compounds, especially organomercury compounds, can also be readily absorbed through direct contact with bare, or in some cases (such as dimethyl mercury) insufficiently protected, skin. Mercury and its compounds are commonly used in chemical laboratories, hospitals, dental clinics, and facilities involved in the production of items such as fluorescent light bulbs, batteries, and explosives.
ive heard that samon has alot of mercury in it. and alot of sushi does too. thats why pregnate women cant eat it..
you would need to digest mercury or have got it in your bloodstream. hardly unlikely!
Not easy to do nowadays since ppl are so aware of the potential problems. Most products that the average person can buy either have no mercury, or so little that it's not likely to cause a problem.
Certain types of sea food is probably the main source of mercury for most ppl. The amount in a serving varies a lot, depending on the type of fish.
The link is a neat calculator where you can check how much of each type of fish is safe to eat. Pretty interesting.
Have fun!
going to mercury
Last year, there was a mercury spill in the office at my school (some old thermometer filled with mercury) And poison control had to came in to remove the carpet, and no one was allowed in the office for about a week. Anyway, you can get Mercury poisoning by breathing it in or of course, eating it.