3 ms·
0.75m^3 is a lot more than I expected. What happens with the Mercury in fillings? Or is that small enough that it no longer matters?
by mmastrac 5y ago
0.75m^3 is a lot more than I expected. What happens with the Mercury in fillings? Or is that small enough that it no longer matters?
- jillesvangurp 5y agoCompared to all the other mercury we put back in the environment. We're talking a few grams here. And it doesn't do much damage while it's in your mouth either.
- takk309 5y agoJust thinking off the top of my head, bioaccumulation is a thing for sure but I don't know how much that it comes from soil. Mercury is naturally occurring in various minerals, although not directly biologically available. Mercury fillings are the same way, not readily available for uptake by your body.
- culi 5y agoOne interesting technology used in phytoremediation for accumulated heavy metals in soils: plants. Many plants are known as "hyperaccumulators" of various metals. Medicago sativa (Alfalfa) and Dittrichia viscosa (Yellow Fleabane) for example were found to be suitable for mercury phytoremidiation in a study[1]. Lichen and mosses may also be suitable for above-ground bioaccumulation of mercury[2] [1] https://www.researchgate.net/publication/269629648_Hyperaccumulators_of_mercury_in_the_industrial_area_of_a_PVC_factory_in_Vlora_Albania https://www.researchgate.net/publication/269629648_Hyperaccu... [2] https://www.nature.com/articles/s43017-021-00146-y https://www.nature.com/articles/s43017-021-00146-y
- CoastalCoder 5y agoJust guessing here, but: perhaps whatever prevents the mercury from entering a patient's bloodstream over the course of his life, will continue to work in the soil?
- rsynnott 5y agoMercury fillings are fairly stable. That said, they're generally removed before cremation to avoid air pollution; possibly the same thing is done here.
- hactually 5y agoThere's a UK study that says cremation of the dead is a source of mercury in the atmosphere... So yeah. Burial shrouds are my preference.