Mercury, or the chemical element hydrargirum (Hg), whether in liquid or gas form, is very dangerous to the human health. Mercury takes the form of a heavy, silvery-white liquid metal at normal room temperature.
Mercury evaporates easily when burned. The vapor is colorless and odorless. Mercury in its liquid state has high surface tension so its shape is spherical when it is placed on a flat surface.
As it has low viscosity, mercury can easily be separated into smaller drops. Mercury can be found as elemental mercury, inorganic mercury, and organic mercury. The substance is widely used in small-scale gold mining to separate pure gold from gold ore.
Various processes, ranging from mixing liquid mercury with alluvial ore deposits to separate gold from sand or rock sediment, and employing the combustion of gold amalgamation to separate pure gold. The process produces the highly toxic mercury waste.
The mercury that has been used to separate gold from alluvial deposits leaches into rivers and the soil. This is why a well is also found to be contaminated with mercury.
According to the Health Ministry\'s Environmental Health director, Imran Agus, mercury enters the human body through inhalation and direct contact with liquid mercury or contaminated water.
Poisonous
When its chemical structure changes, mercury becomes highly toxic, although in general, all forms of mercury are toxic. When a mercury alloy, or amalgam, is burned, it will produce elemental mercury vapor (Hg0) and inorganic mercury iron (Hg2+). Mercury will turn into methyl mercury (MeHg+) if it enters a wet and warm environment and reacts with certain bacteria.
Both forms of mercury are highly toxic, especially for the brain and internal organs. The lungs are vulnerable to the toxic mercury vapor. As for methyl mercury, it enters through the digestive organs and is dissolved into body fat (lipophilic). Many health disorders are caused by inorganic mercury, including irritation of the skin, eye and mucous membranes (soft, wet tissues in the nose, mouth, vagina, and anus).
Other disorders include sensory nerve disorders, such as numbness, stiffness of the fingers and toes, narrowed vision, hearing loss, and motor nervous disorders, such as poor muscle coordination, difficulty standing, falling, tremors, slowed movement, and difficulty speaking.
Mercury exposure also damages the nervous system, the kidneys, and the cardiovascular system. The fetus of a pregnant woman who is exposed to mercury is particularly vulnerable to mercury poisoning, because the fetus receives nutrition from its mother\'s blood that may be contaminated with mercury.
(Sources: Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry/Health Ministry National Action Plans)