Concerns for Human Health Relating to Methylmercury (MeHg) Toxicity in Aquatic Environment: A Systematic Literature Review

Abstract

Mercury poses serious health risks to people, and during the last century, its contamination of the ocean's surface has more than doubled. As a result, authorities and organizations have taken measures to shield people from exposure to this dangerous substance. Mercury pollution mainly comes from many anthropogenic activities, such as burning coal and other industrial processes. In addition to polluting food chains in marine and coastal ecosystems, these operations released mercury into the environment, which subsequently accumulated in fish and was ingested by people. Fish eating from marine, estuarine, and freshwater sources is to blame for more than 90% of MeHg (methylmercury) exposure in the United States and most other regions of the world. This systematic review describes the biotransformation of Hg into MeHg, the entry of MeHg into the aquatic food chain/food web, and the bioaccumulation process of MeHg. This article also describes MeHg toxicity in fish. It focuses on the effects of exposure to MeHg on biochemical, histological, and neurological outcomes in humans, as evident from various epidemiological sources.