Mercury May Be Less Toxic in Vaccines’ Form

The mercury contained in some vaccines is processed differently in the body and is possibly less toxic to children than mercury found in pollution and fish, U.S. researchers reported Thursday.

Tests in monkeys showed that the ethyl mercury contained in the vaccine preservative thimerosal is cleared quickly by the body, but methyl mercury persists much longer.

“Brain concentrations of total mercury were significantly lower by about three-fold for the thimerosal-exposed infants when compared to the methyl mercury infants,” they wrote in this week’s issue of Environmental Health Perspectives.