65 tons of neurotoxin per year released

Why are Americans most prone to mental illness?
I'm gonna make an argument that the cause of increased rates in mental health disorders are due to mercury emissions. Which in a way might be done purposely to deprive americans of healthy intellect and make them dependent on pharmaceuticals. EPA does not even care to control mercury emissions.

Do you think the public is aware of this?
Do you care?
What do you think can or should be done?
Why does the EPA fail to enforce their regulations?


Included is abstract of confirmed reports and scientific studies related to this.

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EPA Lets Old Coal Plants Fire Up
Aug. 22, 2003

The Environmental Protection Agency is set to roll back clean air regulations, enabling some old, coal-fired power plants and refineries to emit more air pollutants, an environmental activist group said. The group accused the Bush administration of purposely releasing the final rule while Congress is on recess.

www.wired.com...

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Mercury in fish worse than thought

Biloxi Sun Herald, MS - Aug 5, 2004

... Coal-fired power plants like Mississippi Power's facilities in Gulfport and Escatawpa only reduced mercury emissions from 51 tons per year to 48 tons per year ...

www.sunherald.com...


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State's fish from lakes test high for mercury
Billings Gazette, MT - Aug 5, 2004

www.billingsgazette.com.../2004/08/06/build/state/35-fish-mercury.inc

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EPA to Probe Missing Mercury
Plants Unable to Account for Tons of Annual Purchases

May 30, 2004; Page A14

Under prodding from environmental groups, the Environmental Protection Agency is taking another look at a handful of U.S. chemical plants that cannot account for as much as 65 tons of mercury they may be releasing into the environment each year.

www.washingtonpost.com...

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www.usatoday.com...


CHICAGO (AP) � Mental illnesses including anxiety disorders and depression are common and under-treated in many developed and developing countries, with the highest rate found in the United States, according to a study of 14 countries.

Rates ranged from 26.4% of people in the United States to 8.2% of people in Italy.

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jama.ama-assn.org...
Vol. 291 No. 21, June 2, 2004

The prevalence of having any WMH-CIDI/DSM-IV disorder in the
prior year varied widely, from 4.3% in Shanghai to 26.4% in the United
States.

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www.maripoisoncenter.com...

The neurotoxicity of inorganic and organic mercury in experimental animals is manifested as functional, behavioral, and morphological changes, as well as alterations in brain neurochemistry. The cerebellar cortex appears to be especially sensitive to mercury toxicity. MM induces an increase in lipoperoxidation in the membranes of cerebellar neurons. MM is believed to act on the oxidative pathways, possibly interfering with mitochondrial electron transport. Also, MM may be acting on mitotic spindle microtubules leading to cell injury in the developing cerebellar cortex.


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the Journal of Neurochemistry ran a study showing brain cells exposed to even minute levels of mercury developed the exact set of neuro-deformations associated with Alzheimer�s disease.


Journal of Neurochemistry
Volume 74 Issue 1 Page 231 - January 2000

www.blackwell-synergy.com...




Exposure of neuroblastoma to molar mercury
increases increases Tau phosphorylation. Both of these events occur in Alzheimer�s diseased brain.
Amyloid Amyloid plaque formation is the plaque formation is the
�diagnostic hallmark� of Alzheimer�s disease. �diagnostic hallmark� of Alzheimer�s disease. Olivieri Olivieri et et
al. J. Neurochemistry, 74, 231, 2000. al. J. Neurochemistry, 74, 231, 2000.


Exposure of cultured neurons to mercury rapidly causes the stripping of tubulin from the from theneurofibrils forming the neurite leading to the processes to the
formation of formation of neurofibillary tangles, a �diagnostic tangles, a �diagnostic
hallmark� of Alzheimer�s disease. Leong Leong et al. et al.
NeuroReports NeuroReports 12(4), 733, 2001 12(4), 733, 2001

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[edit on 8-8-2004 by psilocin]

[edit on 8-8-2004 by psilocin]

Here is the info from the government itself - at least they are not denying it.

www.cdc.gov...


Common behavioral symptoms of mercury toxicity include depression, irritability, exaggerated response to stimuli, excessive shyness, insomnia, and emotional instability (4). In occupational exposure studies, workers with urine mercury concentrations greater than 56 ug/L exhibited neurotoxic effects such as decreased performance on verbal concept formation and memory tests (5). Neurobehavioral tests and other standardized test batteries have been used to assess persons exposed to mercury and other neurotoxic agents in environmental and occupational settings (6-10).

pasture.ecn.purdue.edu...

Mercury poisoning is the ill effects on humans nervous system and other bodily systems due to the over-exposure of mercury. Mercury is a neurotoxin, meaning it affects the nervous system. The "mad hatters" of the 19th century suffered from mercury poisoning which caused personality changes, nervousness, trembling, and even dementia. The hatters were exposed to mercury in the felting process, where mercury was rubbed onto cloth to preserve it.

Today, people are more aware of the dangers of mercury and many of its uses have been discontinued. However, mercury exposure is still an occupational hazard for people in many industries and mercury is present in the environment around us. There is also the risk of exposure due to a thermometer breaking or mercury leaking out of a thermostat or any number of mercury-containing devices. If mercury vapor is inhaled, as much as 80 percent may enter the bloodstream


www.testfoundation.org...

estimated daily avarage mercury intakes.

www.testfoundation.org...

Thanks for the interesting article links. I am still in the process of reading them.

Rise in Brain Disease Linked to Environment, Observer Reports

Aug. 15 (Bloomberg) -- A worsening environment in the world's most developed nations is causing rising cases of brain disease, the U.K.'s Observer newspaper said, citing a report in Public Health.

Increasing amounts of pesticides, industrial effluents, domestic waste, car exhaust and other pollutants were cited as the main causes for the increase in brain diseases such as Alzheimer's, Parkinson's and motor neurone disease, the newspaper reported.

Deaths from brain diseases rose in England and Wales to a rate of 10,000 a year in the late 1990s from 3,000 a year in the 1970s, said Professor Colin Pritchard of Bournemouth University, one of the report's authors, the Observer said.

The study was conducted in Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, Spain, the U.K. and the U.S. between 1979 and 1997, the paper said. Researchers said they took into account the fact that people are living longer and also made allowances for improving diagnoses of these diseases, the Observer said.

(The Observer 08-15)


quote.bloomberg.com...