what are the effects of mercury and lead to aquatic system?

Answer 1

Poison and poison

Answer 2

Mercury and lead are heavy metals. They are not needed by organisms. Hence they act as fatal. Aquatic orgaisms face a lot of problem if they somehow consume these metals. They cause several internal disorders and ultimately death.

Answer 3

They are both poisonous and would kill all the fish and life in the aquatic system. It is about the same as you taking a cyanide capsule.

Answer 4

Liquid mercury is rather inert. that is why dealing with liquid mercury is rather secure. however the mercury compounds in fish are very quite absorbed once you consume the fish. that is why mercury turns into concentrated on the ideal of the nutrients chain.

Answer 5

the death of all animals in the aqutic system

the mercury and lead will be accumulated in the fat of the little fish
the bigger fish eat the smaller fish so they get lead and mercury as well in their bio-system

the biggest fish will die

Answer 6

disastrous for aquatic life and other life forms that live of them

Answer 7

DEATH in so many words.
No sex for the fishies after mercury contact

Answer 8

Precautions and regulation
Main article: mercury poisoning
Mercury should be handled with care. Containers of mercury should be securely sealed to avoid spills and evaporation as mercury can be inhaled and absorbed through the skin. Heating of mercury, or compounds of mercury that may decompose when heated, should always be carried out with adequate ventilation in order to avoid exposure to mercury vapor. Mercury should not be displayed in open containers. Most compounds of mercury are toxic, especially its organic compounds.


[edit] Occupational exposure
Due to the health effects of mercury exposure, industrial and commercial uses are regulated in many countries. The World Health Organization, OSHA, and NIOSH all treat mercury as an occupational hazard, and have established specific occupational exposure limits. Environmental releases and disposal of mercury are regulated in the U.S. primarily by the Environmental Protection Agency.


[edit] Mercury in fish
Fish and shellfish have a natural tendency to concentrate mercury in their bodies, often in the form of methylmercury, a highly toxic organic compound of mercury. Species of fish that are high on the food chain, such as shark, swordfish, king mackerel, albacore tuna, and tilefish contain higher concentrations of mercury than others. This is because mercury is stored in the muscle tissues of fish, and when a predatory fish eats another fish, it assumes the entire body burden of mercury in the consumed fish. Since fish are less efficient at depurating than accumulating methylmercury, fish-tissue concentrations increase over time. Thus species that are high on the food chain amass body burdens of mercury that can be ten times higher, or more, than the species they consume. This process is called biomagnification.

The complexities associated with mercury fate and transport are relatively succinctly described by USEPA in their 1997 Mercury Study Report to Congress. Because methylmercury and high levels of elemental mercury can be particularly toxic to unborn or young children, organizations such as the U.S. EPA and FDA recommend that women who are pregnant or plan to become pregnant within the next one or two years, as well as young children avoid eating more than 6 ounces (one average meal) of fish per week.[17] In the United States the FDA has an action level for methyl mercury in commercial marine and freshwater fish that is 1.0 parts per million (ppm), and in Canada the limit for the total of mercury content is 0.5 (ppm).


[edit] A common warning

This is a Common risk with eating seafood.Species with characteristically low levels of mercury include shrimp, tilapia, salmon, pollock, and catfish (FDA March 2004). The FDA characterizes shrimp, catfish, pollock, salmon, and canned light tuna as low-mercury seafood, although recent tests have indicated that up to 6 percent of canned light tuna may contain high levels.[18]


[edit] The danger of avoiding fish
The effects of consuming fish high in mercury is in dispute with the University of Rochester's study of people in the Seychelles. While there is no doubt high level exposure to methyl mercury is definitely toxic, low level exposure isn't.[19] A recent Harvard Medical School study of mothers and their infants suggests that the nutritional benefits of fish outweigh the effects of mercury.[20] In the HMS study, each additional weekly serving of fish consumed by the mother during pregnancy was associated with an increase in infant cognition.


[edit] Release of mercury into the environment

The environmental impact of mercury use in a particular product can sometimes be complicated. For instance compact fluorescent light bulbs, which contain a very small amount of mercury (in 2004 two-thirds of CFL lamps sold contained 5 mg Hg or less per bulb, while 96 percent contained 10 mg or less), are far more efficient than incandescent lamps, and thus may overall emit less mercury to the environment than incandescent lamps, due to mercury content of fly ash from coal power plants.
Mercury use of compact fluorescent bulb vs. incandescent bulb when powered by electricity generated from coal.Historically, one of the largest releases was from the Colex plant, a lithium-isotope separation plant at Oak Ridge. The plant operated in the 1950s and 1960s. Records are incomplete and unclear, but government commissions have estimated that some two million pounds of mercury are unaccounted for.

The primary sources of mercury to the environment are fossil fuel burning (primarily coal) and solid waste incineration (Nriagu & Pacyna, 1988). Power plants in the U.S., according to U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, are one of the main sources of mercury pollution—48 tons a year

The United States Clean Air Act, passed in 1990, put mercury on a list of toxic pollutants that need to be controlled to the greatest possible extent. Thus, certain industries that release mercury into the environment must install maximum achievable control technologies (MACT). However, a March 2005 EPA rule[21] took power plants off the list of sources which must reduce mercury to the maximum extent. Instead, an cap and trade rule was issued, with most of the reductions in mercury pollution from power plants beginning in the year 2018. States were also given until November 2006 to impose stricter controls, and several States are doing so. The rule was being subjected to legal challenges from several States in 2005.