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People who do not eat fish
are exposed to mercury (other than
from mercury spills) at levels unlikely to cause adverse health effects.
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People who eat a lot of fish
containing mercury may be at risk for subtle neurological effects.
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Various fish consumption
scenarios are presented in Table 9 of the report indicating different number
of meals and different mercury concentrations in fish tissue. Note that a 1
year old child would need to eat four ¼ pound fish meals per month
containing 0.25 mg/kg or more to exceed the Minimal Risk Level. Similarly a
woman of child bearing age would need to eat about 12 - ½ pound meals
per month of fish containing 0.25 mg/kg mercury or more to exceed the Minimal Risk Level. Basses are the fish containing the most
mercury in West Virginia and the average is 0.25 mg/kg. Even when the MRL is exceeded, the
exposures are not necessarily at levels where adverse health effects might
occur.
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Subtle neurological effects
are apparent only with carefully-designed scientific study. These effects are
detected using attention, fine-motor functioning, language, drawing, and
verbal memory tests.
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