U.S. Water News Online
BOSTON -- Low levels of mercury in fish may not
be as harmful to regular fish eaters as experts once thought,
according to a recently
released study. Heavy consumption of mercury-tainted fish has long
been
considered particularly dangerous to pregnant women and their unborn
babies.
But in a new study conducted by the University of Rochester
over
a period of 15 years in the Seychelles Islands, tests show no link
between
the children's development over their first five and a half years and
the levels
of mercury found in their mother's hair during pregnancy.
Concentration of
mercury in the mother's hair is a measure of the amount of mercury to
which
fetuses were exposed.
The journal of Neuro Toxicology published 11 articles
on
the study, which tracked the mental and physical development of more
than 1,500
children starting at six months of age. The study is expected to
sharpen the
debate over mercury poisoning in the United States, where 37 states
advise
people to limit consumption of freshwater fish because of
mercury.
"It is a pivotal study, no doubt about it," said Micael
Bolger, an international mercury poisoning expert and toxicologist
with the
U.S. Food and Drug Administration. "It's not the whole story, but
it's
a good part of it."
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