Mercury Poisoning How Lethal is it? Link to Autism how relevant is it  

So another mylotian got me thinking about something he said. Rather than totally destroy his discussion I thought it was worthy of its own discussion.
Fact One
Thimerosal, a preservative that contains mercury, has been added in very minute amounts to vaccines to prevent their deterioration since the 1930s. No adverse effects of thimerosal have ever been proven, although some allergic reactions have been noted. However, organizations such as the American Academy of Pediatrics have recommended that the use of thimerosal be reduced as a precautionary measure. Today, with the exception of some flu vaccines, none of the vaccines used in the United States to protect preschool children against twelve infectious diseases contain thimerosal as a preservative.[2]

[I am allergic to Thiomersal but I do not have autism, I just don't have some vaccinations]

Fact Two

Pure elemental mercury is a cumulative heavy-metal poison that is moderately absorbed through the skin, rather poorly absorbed through the gastrointestinal tract, and readily absorbed as vapor through the lungs. The element is strongly toxic when absorbed as vapor from the respiratory tract, but it is considerably less so when exposure occurs via other routes. Elemental mercury often passes through the GI tract without being absorbed, and historically mercury has occasionally been used for mechanical relief of intestinal obstructions (today the known toxicity of mercury has put an end to this practice).

Compounds of mercury tend to be much more toxic than the element itself, and organic compounds of mercury are often extremely toxic. Dimethylmercury, for example, is a potent neurotoxin that is lethal in amounts of a fraction of a millilitre.

Mercury damages the central nervous system, endocrine system, kidneys, and other organs, and adversely affects the mouth, gums, and teeth. Exposure over long periods of time or heavy exposure to mercury vapor can result in brain damage and ultimately death. Mercury and its compounds are particularly toxic to fetuses and infants. Women who have been exposed to mercury in pregnancy have sometimes given birth to children with serious birth defects (see Minamata disease).

Some of the toxic effects of mercury are reversible, either through specific therapy or through natural elimination of the metal after exposure has been discontinued. However, heavy or prolonged exposure can do irreversible damage, particularly in fetuses, infants, and young children. Exposure to certain highly toxic compounds of mercury such as dimethylmercury can be fatal within hours or less.

[Mercury does not linger in the brain just floating around because such a high level of Mercury floating around in the brain would lead to death]

Fact Three

The most dangerous mercury compound, dimethylmercury, is so toxic that even a few microliters spilled on the skin, or even a latex glove, can cause death. One of the chief targets of the toxin is the enzyme pyruvate dehydrogenase (PDH). The enzyme is irreversibly inhibited by several mercury compounds, the lipoic acid component of the multienzyme complex binds mercury compounds tightly (mercury binds to the sulfur atoms in lipoic acid) and thus inhibits PDH.

Finally some cases of Mercury Poisoning

From 1932 to 1968 methyl mercury was released into the sea around the city of Minamata in Kumamoto prefecture, Japan. The toxin bioaccumulated in fish, which when eaten by the local population caused the largest case of mercury poisoning known. Minamata disease caused the deaths of over 1000 people and permanently disabled a great many more.
Another case of widespread mercury poisoning occurred in rural Iraq in 1971-1972, when grain treated with a methylmercury-based fungicide was used by the rural population to make bread. It had been intended as seed stock for planting.
In December 1997, a chemistry professor, Karen Wetterhahn, working at Dartmouth College in the United States was contaminated with dimethylmercury when she spilled a drop on her latex glove. She began experiencing the symptoms of mercury poisoning within 5 months of the exposure and despite treatment, died a few months later.[3][4]
In April of 2000 Dr. Alan Chmurny attempted to kill a former employee, Marta Bradley, by pouring mercury into the ventilations system of her car.[5]
China's first emperor, Qin Shi Huang Di, was driven insane and killed by mercury pills intended to give him eternal life.
The comic-book writer, Kurt Busiek was diagnosed as suffering from mercury poisoning in 2005

[so we have broken a mercury thermometer and played with the fascinating silver balls of liquid metal. Fascinating but DEADLY. Do not play with Mercury. The vapours can kill you. If you find mercury lying around, contact your ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH UNIT or BIOHAZARD UNIT immediately.]

A couple of years ago some fools dumped barrel loads of mercury across the river of my home town. Wirral Poisoning, Kids played with it and they became seriously ill.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mercury_poisoning

unfortunately I cannot find an archive for the case in the Wirral.

Did you know that mercury was the cure for Syphilis? a Veneral Disease and that "Mad as Hatter" is due to madness caused by Hat Makers breathing in the vapours of Mercury.