Mercury: Sources, Applications & Health Impacts

The chemical element mercury is the only metal that is a liquid at standard temperature and pressure. It is an extremely rare element in the Earth’s crust with an average abundance of only 80 parts per billion. However, where mercury ores do occur they can by very concentrated containing up to 2.5% mercury by mass. The use of these ores, and of mercury itself, by humans has a long history mercury was found in Egyptian tombs dating from 1500 BC. This book attempts to cover recent developments and the current state-of-the-art relating to many aspects of mercury science. The contributions made by the author teams encompass diverse fields of mercury science such as the monitoring of mercury in various environmental media and the management of mercury in the earth’s ecological system. Efforts have also been made to provide detailed insights into developments in novel chemistry involving mercury and its compounds. This book’s coverage is expanded further to cover the effect of mercury on animals and plants.