Call to ban mercury thermometers

WITH new research showing that even low exposure to mercury can damage the brain of unborn children, Ireland should move swiftly to ban mercury-filled thermometers and other scientific devices using the highly toxic substance, an expert said yesterday.

Michael McKeon, a nursing lecturer at Dublin City University (DCU), said more public information on how women could protect themselves and their children from this potent neurotoxin was also needed.

Mr McKeon, a guest speaker at a conference in Dublin yesterday organised by the Irish Doctors’ Environmental Association (IDEA), pointed out that just one mercury-filled thermometer could contaminate fish in a 20-acre lake.