Delayed Cerebellar Disease and Death after Accidental Exposure to Dimethylmercury

Open Access
Publisher Website
Google Scholar
Abstract
Ingestion of fish or grain contaminated with methylmercury resulted in epidemics of severe neurotoxicity and death in Japan in the 1950s and 1960s1 and in Iraq in 1972.2 The World Health Organization and other organizations have warned of the dangers of methylmercury compounds to the environment and to scientific researchers.1,3-6 Dimethylmercury may be even more dangerous than methylmercury compounds. The physical properties of dimethylmercury permit transdermal absorption, and the volatility of this liquid permits toxic exposure through inhalation. Since dimethylmercury is lethal at a dose of approximately 400 mg of mercury (equivalent to a few drops, or about 5 mg per kilogram of body weight), it is supertoxic according to the rating in a classic toxicology textbook.7