Fishy Mercury
Concentrations of mercury in the air are usually low. However, atmospheric mercury falls to Earth through rain, snow and dry deposition and enters lakes, rivers and estuaries. Once there, it can transform into, methylmercury, and can build up in fish tissue.
Americans are exposed to methylmercury primarily by eating contaminated fish. Because the developing fetus is the most sensitive to the toxic effects of methylmercury, women of childbearing age are regarded as the population of greatest concern. Children who are exposed to methylmercury before birth may be at increased risk of poor performance on neurobehavioral tasks, such as those measuring attention, fine motor function, language skills, visual-spatial abilities and verbal memory.
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