News Coverage
Newborns' Mercury Exposure Worse Than Thought, EPA Says
Published February 6, 2004
The Environmental Protection Agency believes that about 630,000 of the roughly 4 million babies born annually - nearly twice as many as previously thought - may be exposed to dangerous levels of mercury in the womb, according to an EPA analysis released today.
The primary source of newborns' exposure to mercury is the fish and shellfish that their mothers eat. Mercury in children can impair motor functions, learning capacity, vision and memory, and cause a variety of other symptoms sparked by neurological damage.
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