(JP)Mercury in moms delays toddlers' steps: research

October 15, 2001

Mercury in moms delays toddlers' steps: research

KUMAMOTO (Kyodo) Research by a lecturer at Kagoshima

University's faculty of medicine has confirmed that

relatively high levels of mercury in mothers can delay

when their children take their first steps.

Tetsuo Ando examined 44 mothers with less than 10

parts per million of mercury in their hair and the

development of their infants. He found the children's

first steps were delayed in relation to high levels of

mercury. The normal mercury level for women is around

2 ppm.

Conducted over three years from 1992, the study shows

that for every 1 ppm increase in mercury, children

started walking 1.58 months later than usual. Ando

said the mothers in the study gave birth at three

hospitals in Kagoshima Prefecture.

" While the data, from a statistical viewpoint, cannot

clearly state the link, they cannot be dismissed

simply as totally unrelated to mercury, " Ando said.

Ando is set to report the results of the study to the

sixth International Conference on Mercury as a Global

Pollutant, which started Monday in Kumamoto

Prefecture's Minamata, where industrial pollution

caused deaths, disabilities and birth defects in the

1950s and 1960s.

The condition, which paralyzes the central nervous

system, was named Minamata disease.

The study marks the first time a Japanese research

group conducted a serious examination of the effects

of mercury on fetuses, Ando claimed.

International debate continues about whether mothers

with about 10 ppm of mercury in their hair after

eating large amounts of fish can transfer small

amounts of mercury to their babies.

The Japan Times: Oct. 16, 2001

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