Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2002 Feb;110 Suppl 1(Suppl 1):11-23.
doi: 10.1289/ehp.02110s111.

The three modern faces of mercury

Thomas W Clarkson  1
Affiliations
Review

The three modern faces of mercury

Thomas W Clarkson. Environ Health Perspect. 2002 Feb.

Abstract

The three modern "faces" of mercury are our perceptions of risk from the exposure of billions of people to methyl mercury in fish, mercury vapor from amalgam tooth fillings, and ethyl mercury in the form of thimerosal added as an antiseptic to widely used vaccines. In this article I review human exposure to and the toxicology of each of these three species of mercury. Mechanisms of action are discussed where possible. Key gaps in our current knowledge are identified from the points of view both of risk assessment and of mechanisms of action.

PubMed Disclaimer

References

    1. Science. 1973 Jul 20;181(4096):230-41 - PubMed
    1. Ann Neurol. 1988 Nov;24(5):651-9 - PubMed
    1. Neurotoxicology. 1996 Spring;17(1):127-38 - PubMed
    1. N Engl J Med. 1998 Jun 4;338(23):1672-6 - PubMed
    1. Toxicology. 1975;3(2):171-6 - PubMed

Publication types