Free Custom «Mercury and Lead Poisoning Case Studies» Essay Paper

The Minamata Bay Incident in Japan and Lead Poisoning in Iraq happened in the 19^th century and both had immense consequences to people in those regions. The Minamata Bay Incident occurred when Chisso Corporation deposited 27 tons of methyl mercury in the Minamata Bay area. This incident is estimated to have taken place close to 38 years. On the other hand, Lead Poisoning in Iraq took place when there was an epidemic of Organomercury poisoning, which was orchestrated by the eating of treated grain. More than 300 people died from this incidence and it went into the annals as the largest food poisoning ever. A lesson from the Minamata Bay Incident is that depositing methyl mercury in the environment poses a risk to human and animal life. Among the neuropsychological consequences associated with low-dose exposure to lead include severe damage to the nervous system.

This essay explicates the lessons learnt from The Minamata Bay Incident and neuropsychological consequences of low-dose exposure to Lead.

The Minamata Incidence proves that methyl mercury should not be deposited into the environment. This is because, in the aforementioned incidence, humans got affected through fish that were contaminated with the methyl mercury. Ministry of the Environment, Japan (2011) indicates that the second lesson learnt regards the effect of methyl mercury on humans. These include health problems such as tunnel vision, hearing impairments, numbness and disequilibrium syndrome.

 

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On the other hand, the neuropsychological consequences that resulted from the low-dose exposure to lead include the irreversible damage to the nervous system, hearing impairments, numbness and tunnel vision. Thus, World Health Organization (2010) intimates that it is advisable for human beings to be prevented from coming into contact with methyl mercury deposits because of its adverse effects.

In conclusion, both incidences depict the adverse effects associated with the consumption of food that has methyl mercury deposits. Notably, methyl mercury results to neuropsychological effects such as numbness, hearing impairments and utter failure of the central nervous system.