On November 5, the Senate Science Subcommittee on Environment, Technology, and Standards held a hearing on mercury emissions. Of particular interest to women and their families is the relationship between mercury exposure from fish consumption and adverse health effects in humans.
In a press release announcing the hearing, the subcommittee cited a 2000 National Research Council (NRC) review on the health effects of mercury, which found a wide range of effects varying with the size of the dose. “The report stated that the fetus is the most sensitive [to the effects of mercury], and prenatal exposures have been shown to interfere with the growth and migration of neurons and can cause irreversible damage to the developing central nervous system. At the low dose exposure that is associated with fish consumption by the mother, infants may appear normal during the first few months of life, but later display deficits in subtle neurological endpoints such as IQ.”
The subcommittee also cited a recent study released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which found that “approximately 8 percent of women of childbearing age in the U.S. had mercury levels exceeding the level considered safe by the Environmental Protection Agency for protecting the fetus.” The subcommittee notice indicated that mercury contamination in fish has led health departments in 45 states to issue freshwater fish consumption advisories. These advisories warn people to limit consumption or avoid altogether certain species of fish from specific bodies of water.
Thomas Burke, a professor of health policy and management at The Johns Hopkins University, summarized the research performed by the NRC Committee on the Health Effects of Methylmercury prior to releasing the 2000 report. He noted that the committee focused on the fish consumption of pregnant women and found that “an estimated 60,000 children may be born each year with an elevated risk of adverse neurodevelopmental effects due to maternal mercury exposure.” Dr. Burke argued that more research on the exposure levels of mercury is necessary to “identify those at highest risk, examine geographic differences, and improve our epidemiological surveillance to identify and prevent any related adverse health outcomes.”
