Mercury

About mercury

Mercury is a toxic metal in the environment. It's liquid at room temperature and easily evaporates into the air, where we can breathe it in. Mercury is one of a  group of pollutants called persistent bio-accumulative toxins, or PBTs. These toxins don't break down or go away, but instead stay in the environment.

Mercury and your health

Mercury can harm the central nervous system and kidneys. 

Mercury builds up in the tissue of fish, which people and animals then eat. There is no way to  remove or reduce mercury once it's in fish, even through cooking. Fetuses and young children are at highest risk of health effects from eating mercury in fish, so they, pregnant people, and breastfeeding women have to be especially careful.

This doesn't mean you should stop eating fish. It's a good source of protein and is low in saturated fat. You can still get the benefits of eating fish by using moderation in how much you eat.

Learn how much fish is safe to eat

Although human exposure to mercury occurs most frequently through eating contaminated fish, there are other ways to be exposed to mercury. People have been exposed by inhaling mercury vapors from broken fluorescent lamps, gas regulators, and home fever thermometers. Rarely, people are exposed by swallowing mercury.

Questions? Contact ToxCall 303-692-2606 or cdphe_toxcall@state.co.us

Mercury in the environment

Mercury can be released into the environment from natural sources, such as volcanic and geothermal activity, marine environments or forest fires, or it can be released from unnatural sources like coal-fired power plants and other industrial activities.

Recent studies suggest that human activity contributes 50 to 70% of the mercury in the environment globally (Office of Air Quality and Standards Report to Congress, 1997). Once it enters the environment, it circulates in and out of the atmosphere until it ends up in the bottoms of lakes and oceans where it is transformed by bacteria into a form that can accumulate in fish tissue.