The silver linings of mercury: Reconsideration of its impacts on living organisms from a multi-timescale perspective

Environ Int. 2021 Jun 3;155:106670. doi: 10.1016/j.envint.2021.106670. Online ahead of print.ABSTRACTResearch on mercury (Hg), a naturally occurring element in Earth's lithosphere, has been extremely hot in the past few decades due to the outbreak of a series of disastrous poisoning incidents. However, such studies might provide us a biased view towards Hg if no thorough review about its long-term effects on living organisms from a multi-timescale perspective was performed. Hg might have played a mysterious role in critical intervals (e.g., mass extinction and oceanic anoxia events) in several geologic periods due to the elevated Hg levels induced by volcanism whereas it has long been used for various purposes in human history. Therefore, it is necessary to go through previous studies and historical records of different timescales (100 to 106 yr). In this work, we conducted a thorough review of Hg knowledge at three different timescales, i.e., geologic periods (106 yr), human history (103 yr), and contemporary history (100 yr), summarizing recent advances and indicated potential research gaps. By doing so, we demonstrated that it is possible to achieve safe and sustainable Hg applications despite the current Hg crisis. However, such silver linings depend on a better understanding of ecosystem dynamics. Besides, considering the possible dire consequences of erupted Hg levels as suggested in geological periods, swift actions to mitigate the impacts of anthropogenic activities o...
Source: Environment International - Category: Environmental Health Authors: Source Type: research