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  Health Tools >  << Previous|Next >>
  Mercury Calculator

Your weight: lbs.

Fish 1:
Amount eaten in a week: oz.

Fish 2:
Amount eaten in a week: oz.

Fish 3:
Amount eaten in a week: oz.

Mercury Exposure:

of EPA Limit *

(Should be under 100%)

dose meter
  • It is well established that eating seafood that contains mercury is hazardous to our health, especially for pregnant women and children. But with a lack of health advisories nationwide, how are we supposed to make smart choices for our family? The Mercury calculator above helps you make such choices by giving you the option of including several species of fish; just enter your weight, the seafood type(s), the quantity of seafood you will eat during a week and hit the calculator button.

  • Mercury contamination of seafood is a widespread public health concern. In fact, pregnant women, children and women who might become pregnant to avoid the consumption of swordfish, shark, tilefish and king mackerel because of their high methyl-mercury content. In addition to being toxic for humans, swordfish and many other species of fish are being caught in ways that are devastating ocean habitats and fisheries. Longline fishing, the fishing method used to catch swordfish, kills thousands of sea turtles per year. Our organization is fighting for a world that is sustainable and just for both people and for wildlife.

    * Mercury concentration values used for this calculator come from the United States Food and Drug Administration website. Two exceptions are the troll-caught albacore data which comes from an Oregon State University study and canned albacore data, which comes from an FDA dataset that is not yet published on their site. Please be aware that these values are averages. The concentration of mercury in seafood can be significantly higher or lower than what is represented here. As a precautionary approach, we recommend that women, (especially of child-bearing age) avoid seafood species that contain higher average levels of mercury. Mercury information for many shellfish species is currently unavailable.
Reference Source 143



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