This review covers the toxicology of mercury and its compounds. Special attention is paid to those forms of mercury of current public health concern. Human exposure to the vapor of metallic mercury dates back to antiquity but continues today in occupational settings and from dental amalgam. Health risks from methylmercury in edible tissues of fish have been the subject of several large epidemiological investigations and continue to be the subject of intense debate. Ethylmercury in the form of a preservative, thimerosal, added to certain vaccines, is the most recent form of mercury that has become a public health concern. The review leads to general discussion of evolutionary aspects of mercury, protective and toxic mechanisms, and ends on a note that mercury is still an "element of mystery."

The Toxicology of Mercury and Its Chemical Compounds

Recycling of rare earths: a critical review

Leu-M

https://www.thelancet.com/pdfs/journals/lancet/PIIS0140-6736(06)69665-7.pdf

Developmental neurotoxicity of industrial chemicals

Generalized Linear Models (2nd ed.)

Reference dose (RfD): Description and use in health risk assessments☆

Regulatory history and experimental support of uncertainty (safety) factors.

Copper (Cu) and its alloys are used extensively in domestic and industrial applications. Cu is also an essential element in mammalian nutrition. Since both copper deficiency and copper excess produce adverse health effects, the dose-response curve is U-shaped, although the precise form has not yet been well characterized. Many animal and human studies were conducted on copper to provide a rich database from which data suitable for modeling the dose-response relationship for copper may be extracted. Possible dose-response modeling strategies are considered in this review, including those based on the benchmark dose and categorical regression. The usefulness of biologically based dose-response modeling techniques in understanding copper toxicity was difficult to assess at this time since the mechanisms underlying copper-induced toxicity have yet to be fully elucidated. A dose-response modeling strategy for copper toxicity was proposed associated with both deficiency and excess. This modeling strategy was applied to multiple studies of copper-induced toxicity, standardized with respect to severity of adverse health outcomes and selected on the basis of criteria reflecting the quality and relevance of individual studies. The use of a comprehensive database on copper-induced toxicity is essential for dose-response modeling since there is insufficient information in any single study to adequately characterize copper dose-response relationships. The dose-response modeling strategy envisioned here is designed to determine whether the existing toxicity data for copper excess or deficiency may be effectively utilized in defining the limits of the homeostatic range in humans and other species. By considering alternative techniques for determining a point of departure and low-dose extrapolation (including categorical regression, the benchmark dose, and identification of observed no-effect levels) this strategy will identify which techniques are most suitable for this purpose. This analysis also serves to identify areas in which additional data are needed to better define the characteristics of dose-response relationships for copper-induced toxicity in relation to excess or deficiency.

Copper and Human Health: Biochemistry, Genetics, and Strategies for Modeling Dose-response Relationships

https://www.tera.org/Publications/UF%20in%20Noncancer.pdf

Michael L. Dourson

Papers

Reference dose (RfD): Description and use in health risk assessments☆

Regulatory history and experimental support of uncertainty (safety) factors.

Copper and Human Health: Biochemistry, Genetics, and Strategies for Modeling Dose-response Relationships

Evolution of Science-Based Uncertainty Factors in Noncancer Risk Assessment

A new method for determining allowable daily intakes.