Late last week, the CDC Volume 53 of it's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. Within the publication, was a report entitled, "Blood Mercury Levels in Young Children and Childbearing-Aged Women --- United States, 1999--2002", sure to prick the ears of any mercury-aware googling monkey.
The news, while slightly better than the CDC's earlier report from 2002, indicated that of the 3600+ women in the study group, 6%, or 1 out of 17, had blood mercury levels deemed dangerous by the EPA.
To put that in some perspective, breast cancer rates among women in the US are about 1:10,000.
But not everyone took the news as so grim. From the US Tuna Foundation:
Mercury Levels in Women and Young Children Are Not of Concern, USA 06 Nov 2004The US Tuna Foundation (USTF) today stated that by finding that mercury levels in women and young children are very low and "not of concern," a new study from the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) should reassure all Americans that eating fish, such as canned tuna, is safe and should be encouraged because of the many health benefits associated with seafood consumption.
Published in the November 5 issue of the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, the CDC's new study confirms that mercury levels from fish consumption for women and young children in the U.S. are well below any level of concern.
Specifically, CDC researchers used the ongoing National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) to analyze the amount of mercury in the blood of more than 3,600 women of childbearing age and 1,500 children aged one to five years and found that all had mercury levels significantly below the threshold for any known risk.
...
"We now have proof that mercury levels in the vast majority of women and young children in the U.S. are not of concern, which should go a long way towards reassuring the public that eating seafood, such as canned tuna, is safe and provides a number of important health benefits."
Hey, it's only 240,000 women. Okay, and their unborn children. Drop in the bucket. Eat more tuna. While you're at it, have some swordfish, mackerel and shark as well.
Posted by MB Williams at November 8, 2004 06:01 PM | TrackBackWhy blame the fish? The largest source of mercury in people is dental amalgam fillings.
Posted by: Bernie Simon at November 8, 2004 08:37 PMBah. No links. Look here for more info
http://tinyurl.com/6zrof
I know...the candidate I worked for had to have her fillings removed after hair samples showed extreme toxicity. But canned tuna and other large fish have been shown to cause mercury poisoning, and I'm very suspicious that all the fish I ate while pregnant had an impact (that and the root canal...sigh.)
Posted by: MB at November 8, 2004 08:56 PM