Methyl mercury and the Developing Brain

摘要

We reported that prenatal exposure to methylmercury causes cognitive impairment in an estimated 316,588 children born in the United States each year,costing this nation 8.7 billion annually in lost productivity(Trasande et al.2005).Each year,this exposure also causes an estimated 1,566 cases of mental retardation(Trasande et al.2006).The principal(70%)source of the mercury that enters the bodies of American children is combustion of coal in electricity-generating plants.