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You can be exposed to mercury in a number of ways:
• Inorganic mercury can be found in common items such as, cosmetics, disinfectants, spermicidal jellies, and wood preservatives
• Organic mercury can be found in fish, contaminated foods, antiseptics, bactericidals, fungicides, germicidal agents, insecticides, laundry products, diaper products, and wood preservatives, as well as thimerosal, a preservative added to some vaccines
Here’s the eye opener. The Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (1997) says: The primary source of environmental exposure to mercury in the general population is through the consumption of contaminated fish.
If you’ve suddenly started counting all the fish and chips, pan fried pickerel, deep fried bass, and oven baked trout, not to mention all the store bought salmon, tuna, and mackerel, you’ve been eating and you’ve started to sweat, check out this list of symptoms common with chronic organic mercury toxicity to see if any apply. If they do, get to a doctor immediately.
• Muscle tremors
• Gingivitis
• A specific grouping of symptoms that include, insomnia, shyness, memory loss, emotional instability, depression, anorexia, vasomotor disturbance, uncontrolled perspiration, and blushing
• Headache
• Visual disturbance, such as tunnel vision
• Nerve trouble in the extremities, including numbness, tingling, or pins and needles sensations
• Salivation problems
• Insomnia
• Inability to coordinate movement to extreme motor dysfunction
• Hearing loss
• Difficulty with speaking
• Mental deterioration
• With severe exposure, paralysis and death
• In pregnancy toxicity can cause spontaneous abortion or retardation of the fetus
There are a whole different set of symptoms related to sudden excessive exposure to the other two forms of mercury, inorganic and elemental, which include fever, chills, shortness of breath, metallic taste, foul breath, loose teeth, kidney problems, lung pain, stomach pain, severe abdominal pain, lethargy, confusion, and vomiting.
Just as with everything else being healthy only in moderation, so it is with fish. Don’t stop eating them, instead, become educated as to your recommended amounts, then ‘savour’ your fish.
If you’re from Ontario you can pick up a free handy Guide to Eating Ontario Sport Fish at the Ministry of Natural Resources. If not, your province or country likely has its own version. The Guide is very specific. For instance, if you looked up White Otter Lake you’d find:
• The general population can eat up to 8 servings of walleye per month if the walleye is under 16 inches and only 4 per month if over 16 inches. One serving of walleye translates to eight ounces for an average-sized adult weighing 155 lbs.
• Women of child-bearing age and children under fifteen can eat up to 8 servings of walleye per month if the fish is under 10 inches, 4 servings of walleye the size 10 to 16 inches, and none that are over 16 inches.
The guide also says ‘the number in each box represents the maximum number of meals per month which can be safely consumed provided that sport fish are not consumed from any other category.’ So, using the example above, if you’re in the general population and you’re fishing at White Otter Lake, you can eat eight servings per month of fish ‘total,’ rather than eight of pickerel ‘and’ eight of pike.
I know it’s a bummer. But it just makes us appreciate, all the more, those tender tasty morsels of fish when we get them on our supper plate.
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Photo Credit: Gokhan Okur
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