Toxicological aspects of the 1972 methyl-mercury poisoning in Iraq

Methylmercury elecits characterstic toxic effects in man that differ from those of other mercury compounds. The 1972 outbreak of mercury poisoning in Iraq was considered the largest and most tragic. This study deals with the forms of mercury involved in the outbreak and their involvement in the clinical manifestations as well as their dose - response relationship. Computation of the estimated period of exposure was made by construction of a pharmaco - kinetical model. Determination of mercury in various biological materials from patients under study reveals that the amount of inorganic mercury in plasma and milk correlate closely with that in whole blood, but have no correlation with urine