As already mentioned, mercury was widely used to make ointments, cosmetics and even dental fillings. But studies have revealed that the compounds and vapours of mercury are potentially hazardous as it can cause poisoning.
In fact, mercury poisoning is something to be feared as it does not affect just one part, but each and every system of the human body. It can cause other diseases as well.
Health problems caused by mercury depend on how much of it has entered your body, how it entered your body, how long you have been exposed to it, and how your body responds to mercury. There are many possible ways to get poisoned by mercury.
Some cosmetics can be harmful to us as it contains compounds of mercury. The people working in the paint industry are at risk as paint uses some compounds of mercury. Eating fish that have been exposed to mercury in the environment is also very dangerous.
In 1956, thousands of fishermen and their families in the southern Japanese city of Minamata fell ill because they ate fish that had been contaminated with mercury.
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