Fact Sheet - Mercury

• Mercury has been found in at least 714 of 1,467 National Priorities List sites identified by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

 

• Effects of mercury on brain function may result in irritability, shyness, tremors, changes in vision or hearing, and memory problems.

 

• The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has set a limit of 2 parts of mercury per billion parts of drinking water (2 ppb).

 

• The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has set the maximum permissible level of methylmercury in seafood at one part per million (1 ppm).

 

• The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has set limits of 0.1 milligram of organic mercury per cubic meter of workplace air (0.1 mg/m³) and 0.05 mg/m³ of metallic mercury vapor for 8-hour shifts and 40-hour work weeks.

• The EPA has set the maximum contaminant level (MCL) for mercury in drinking water at 0.002 milligrams per liter (mg/L).

• The major source of mercury is the natural degassing of the earth's crust in the range of 25,000-150,000 tons of mercury per year, according to a 1972 UN committee on food additives.

• Two characteristics, volatility and biotransformation, make mercury somewhat unique as an environmental toxicant. Its volatility accounts for atmospheric concentrations up to 4 times the level of contaminated soils in an area. Inorganic forms of mercury (Hg) can be converted to organic forms by microbial action in the biosphere.

• In aquatic systems, mercury appears to bind to dissolved matter or fine particulates. The transport of mercury bound to dust particles in the atmosphere, or bed sediment particles in rivers and lakes is generally less substantial.

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