Study: Link Between Industrial Release Of Mercury And Increased Autism Rates

San Antonio, TX (AHN) - A new study shows a statistically significant link between industrial release of mercury and increased rates of autism in children at a time when more Americans are using compact fluorescent light bulbs that can release mercury if thrown in the trash instead of being carefully recycled.

The study published in the journal Health & Place by researchers at The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, showed that there is a statistically significant association between autism risk and the distance from a mercury source. It is the first time such a link has been published in scientific literature.

Mercury is a neurotoxin, which is a health hazard especially for children and fetuses. Most people are exposed to mercury by eating fish contaminated with high levels of mercury that has gotten into the water.

"This is not a definitive study, but just one more that furthers the association between environmental mercury and autism," lead author Raymond F. Palmer, Ph.D., associate professor of family and community medicine at the UT Health Science Center San Antonio, said in a statement.

Palmer and his colleagues say they found that the prevalence of autism in a community is reduced by 1 percent to 2 percent with each 10 miles of distance from a pollution source of mercury.

Findings of the study are significant, because, like lead, mercury can affect brain development in children.

"We suspect low-dose exposures to various environmental toxicants, including mercury, that occur during critical windows of neural development among genetically susceptible children may increase the risk for developmental disorders such as autism," the authors wrote.

While saying that the study had not been designed to identify which individuals in a community were at risk of autism because of exposure to mercury, the study "does suggest generally that there is greater autism risk closer to the polluting source," Palmer said.

Along with fish and industrial waste, mercury is found in the compact fluorescent light bulbs that more Americans are beginning to use because they use less electricity than a traditional incandescent bulbs does.

The mercury in the compact light is safe as long as the bulbs are intact. But when the bulbs burn out, unless consumers recycle the bulbs, in a safe and cautious manner, it is probable that the bulbs will break, releasing toxic mercury.

"The problem with the bulbs is that they'll break before they get to the landfill. They'll break in containers, or they'll break in a dumpster or they'll break in the trucks. Workers may be exposed to very high levels of mercury when that happens," John Skinner, executive director of the Solid Waste Association of North America, the trade group for the people who handle trash and recycling, told National Public Radio in an interview last year.

In addition, Skinner told NPR that bulbs could contaminate soil when they break near homes.