Mercury is a heavy metal that has the unique property of remaining liquid at standard temperatures and pressures. Due to this unique property, it is widely used in the production of thermometers, barometers, fluorescent lamps, pesticides, batteries and numerous laboratory reagents. Even in relatively low quantities, mercury and most of its compounds are extremely toxic. Most of the world's mercury is deposited in the form of cinnabar, a mercury sulfide found in mercury ore. Human mercury poisoning occurs most commonly due to exposure to water-soluble forms such as mercury chloride and methylmercury. Exposure to these types of mercury ranges from accidental inhalation of mercury vapor, to ingestion of contaminated seafood to absorption through the skin from direct contact. The toxic effects of mercury were first discovered to affect men with industrial-related occupational exposure. These effects became most evident in the 1960s in Minamata, Japan, where an epidemic of neurological disorders was observed in children born to mothers who consumed contaminated fish. (Grandjean and Landrigan, 20...