Vol. 10, No. 2, 2004 Page 7


EPA: ONE IN SIX BABIES AT RISK FOR MERCURY TOXICITY

Researchers at the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) have issued a new report saying that as many as one in every six pregnant women may have mercury levels high enough to disrupt fetal development.

Mercury is a powerful neurotoxin that can severely impair learning and behavior, particularly if children are exposed to elevated levels of this heavy metal before birth.

EPA studies have routinely measured mercury levels in pregnant women's blood as a means of determining the mercury exposure of their fetuses. However, EPA biochemist Kathryn Mahaffey now says, "We did not routinely measure [umbilical] cord blood. We had thought that the mother and the fetus had the same level."

New research, Mahafffey says, shows that mercury levels in fetal umbilical cord blood are actually 70 percent higher than levels in the mother's blood. As a result, even when mothers have blood mercury levels well below dangerous levels, their infants can suffer from mercury toxicity.

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"Mercury threat to fetus raised: EPA revises risk estimates," Guy Gugliotta, Washington Post, February 6, 2004.


Related Article: [2005, Vol. 11]

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