The autism claims were based on the use of methiolate as a preservative because it contained mercury. That hasn't been used since the Clinton years.
The name is actually Thimerosal. I have a base metal allergy, so I learned about that years ago. Murine® and Visine® used to have that preservative in them. Instead of getting the red out, my eyes turned red all over along with the burning.
But, yes that is/was the factor that has been suspected to cause the autism but the tricky part was that it was used in vials or ampules for storage before any medication was ever placed in them. It's a crap shoot to know if it is there or not.