Published May 10th, 2021, 5/10/21 9:33 pm
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Mercury, the liquid metal. In its most potent form, a single drop of Mercury is enough to kill you if ingested. That's what that sign on the pier is for, people! Some species of edible fish have high Mercury levels, especially if caught from the pier. Luckily, most of those fish are safe (or at least safer) if caught on open water. But the real kicker is that we don't really even know where that Mercury in the food chain comes from! Most of what ends up in the water from land or air sources is elemental Mercury, which is actually relatively harmless because living things can dispose of it easily. The toxic form, Monomethylmercury, on the other hand, is much harder for the body to dispose of, so it builds up in bodily tissues. Structurally, Monomethylmercury is a Carbon atom and three Hydrogen atoms attached to an atom of Mercury. What we don't know is where most of the conversion (called methylation) is taking place. Some bacteria produce Monomethylmercury as a by-product of their biological processes, but they don't produce anywhere near enough to account for the toxic levels we find in our seafood.
Basic Diagram of Monomethylmercury:
.....H
......|
H - C - Hg
......|
.....H
(Ignore the dots. Those are placeholders for indents.)
Basic Diagram of Monomethylmercury:
.....H
......|
H - C - Hg
......|
.....H
(Ignore the dots. Those are placeholders for indents.)
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