Mercury In The Bone Research Paper

The chemical Mercury, symbolized as Hg, is an element most prominently found as a solid metal throughout Earth’s surface. It is a naturally occurring element found in Earth’s soil, water and air. To name a few examples of how Mercury is created, there are forest fires and volcanic eruptions whose combustion creates Mercury. In addition, humans also create Mercury through incinerators used in power plants. Mercury is known to be very poisonous to humans and affects many organisms ranging from fish to rats in a neurological way. These effects include impaired growth, abnormal behavior, difficulties in reproduction, and even death. The sheer reality of Mercury is that it is very prominent in human lives. This is because the organisms that humans eat are exposed to Mercury through their trophic levels, and is amplified by each successive animal in a process known as biomagnification. A popular organism in particular affected by Mercury are fish because of Mercury content within the ocean. In this project, the chemical compound known as Aluminum Sulfate will be tested to see how well it can be used as a filter to Mercury within the Earth’s ocean. This is because Aluminum Sulfate combines with impurities in water, and makes the impurity a bigger solid to be extracted easier. Furthermore, …show more content…
At the moment, the most popular way of purifying water from substances such as Mercury are carbon filters. Carbon filters typically remove chemicals whilst generating more Carbon into the atmosphere. This can be very damaging to the environment by promoting greater amounts of greenhouse gases leading to an increase in Earth’s temperature. However, with the use of Aluminum Sulfate it is a cheaper solution, as well as ecologically beneficial because it does not emit any harmful gases into the environment as a Carbon filter