Chronic Effects of Mercury on Organisms:

Historical development


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HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENT MERCURY IN THE HABITATIONAL ENVIRONMENT OF MAN AS AN OBJECT OF HYGIENIC AND TOXICOLOGICAL RESEARCH Metallic mercury has been known since ancient times, earlier than lead, copper, iron and other metals. It was widely known for its property of having a bright color of cinnabar and the ease with which it is obtained from ore. Regarding the development of the mercury industry, its basic history involved three primary locations, Almaden and Idria in Europe, and Peru. The first two sites have been worked right up to the present. In the middle of the eighteenth century mercury was discovered in California and Italy, and at the nineteenth century in Mexico and Russia. The best known compound of mercury is corrosive sublimate or mercuric chloride. The method of obtaining it by sublimation was worked out by J. Kunkel in 1716. In 1799, E. Hobard discovered a second compound of mercury, mercury fulminate. The production of mercury and its compounds grew little and followed generally the development of physics, chemistry and electro-technology. This elucidated other specific properties of mercury compounds, which, when utilized alone or in combinations with other things, are widely used today in everyday life. Along with many discoveries which made mercury widely utilized was revealed on glaring deficiency, the possibility of toxic action on the body. Quite a lot about this property of mercury is known and has been for a long time. Arab alchemists and surgeons primarily knew that it was a poison for scorpions and other pests that infest houses. (1700) "On the Diseases of Artisans" Re: "paralysis, asthma and other afflictions." (1564) G. Fallopio Re: Workers in mercury mines could not endure the work conditions for three years." Under the influence of mercury vapor workers quickly developed tremors, then signs of paralysis, and cachexia. Quotation from the book of Lecretius: "Who has not seen or heard, how in so short a time they are killed, and that the strength of all life is taken." (1901, 1908) V. A. Levitskiy and S. M. Mikhaylov, described massive mercury poisoning, which in 71% of those studied, took severe course towards disintegration of the nervous system. V. A. Levitskiy wrote: "a large group of the population are exposed to slow acting, but surely poisonous, effects leading to gradual death and physical dysfunction." V. A. Levitskiy and his followers were against the transition of healthy workers into invalidism by the treating floss with potassium hydroxide. Serious mercury poisoning in the past has arisen as a consequence of the action of mercury compounds. It is known that at the end of the 19th century, mercuric chloride was widely used, especially in medical practice. A. G. Bodosko (1901) in his dissertation stated that, in 1889 and 1890 four times the number of poisonings with mercuric chloride were recorded than from 1880 to 1889. (1934) M. F. Mirochnik, referred to literature data recording the significant increase of poisonings with this compound in the period 1900 to 1910. Naturally, in this and preceding years, there appeared many independent clinical and especially experimental studies carried out on the subject of mercuric chloride poisoning. (M. Bernatskiy, 1869; A. Dubelir, 1875; I. Kaspar'yants, 1972; E. S. Koshnitskiy, 1898; and others.) The increase in quantity of industrial processes linked with the use of mercury at the end of the last and the beginning of this century, determined over the course of years, a high interest by hygienists and toxicologists in the problem of mercury poisoning. This activated the interest of sanitation physicians in the problem of prophylaxis of occupational mercurialism, making possible the introduction into industry of a series of health measures. Later this led to some reduction in the number of mercury poisoning cases among factory workers and pointed out the character of the phenomenon of such poisonings, which were not, in all cases, as severe as before: poisoning progressed slowly, and symptoms of poisoning often appeared after cessation of contact with mercury. Such measures at that period gave evidence of relative safety, which led to the conclusion that, at the beginning of the twenties there were observed tendencies towards diminution in research in the field of occupational mercurialism. However, in actuality "safety" was more than doubtful. A new milestone in research on occupational mercury poisoning later appeared in 1926 in a work of the German chemists A. Stock (1926) on the possible toxic effect on the human body of very low concentrations of mercury (thousandths of mg/m3). The view of Stock and his colleagues who published after him the correct diagnosis of unusual disintegrations in the state of health of those working with mercury, which at first physicians had not connected with the effects of mercury. As is now known, they classified this state as a phenomenon of the prolonged action on the body of small concentrations of mercury and gave it the name micromercurialism. The latter, according to A. Stock, was often encountered in persons working with mercury. They had not been diagnosed by physicians as suffering from a condition of "mercury" etiology however. A. Stock assumed that the development of mercury poisoning is diagnosed less often than had previously been thought. Thus, he postulated, as did Pascal and Faraday, who used mercury in their laboratories, that exposure through time led to heavy mercury intoxication. It is known that Faraday used mercury as a cathode in electrolysis. He developed psychic disturbances, acute asthenia and loss of memory. Despite treatment in a psychiatric hospital, he was practically incapable of developing and participating in scientific activity.