Mercury in the Amazon

Mercury is one of the most studied environmental pollutants. Elemental mercury is spread very effectively from different sources and may be methylated in the environment. Methylmercury is more toxic, very persistent, and readily bioaccumulated, especially in aquatic food chains In most industrialized countries, actions have been taken to minimize contamination with heavy metals and other harmful substances. In many developing or recently industrialized countries, however, the pollution problem is much more complicated. There is an obvious lack of knowledge, legislation, governmental control, analytical capacity, and monitoring.