His described symptoms are those of hysteria... not Mercury poisoning. Mercury poisoning is a cumulative heavy metal poison with symptoms much like those of Lead poisoning. It takes a long time to get poisoned by Mercury unless you are literally walking through the vapors exuded by boiling Mercury, in which case, Mercury poisoning is the least of your worries, and even then it takes time for the symptoms to appear.
Symptoms typically include sensory impairment (vision, hearing, speech), disturbed sensation and a lack of coordination.
I don't care that there are medical records of his totally unnecessary EM call, Emergency Room visit, or any follow up. Those exist because he was ignorant and scared. He was NOT poisoned by Mercury. He was poisoned by propaganda.
If it is a problem, I don’t think this would be a completely isolated case, either... However, unless something becomes an epidemic we don’t usually hear about it, do we?
Note that the Emergency Medical Response people really didn't know what to do for Mercury poisoning... nor did the ER physician. If it were such a widespread issue, with millions of CFLs and tube fluorescent lights breaking every year, these professionals would know instantly how to handle it. They were at a loss. Ergo, it is NOT A PROBLEM. It's Liberal, Nanny State FUD.
I'm not saying that Mercury is totally innocuous, but it takes some work to get Mercury poisoning. Fluorescent lighting with mercury in it has been around for 75 years. It is NOT a dire health problem or even a environmental problem.
If you really want a good example of regulatory or legislative "unintended consequences" you need look no further than California mandating the use of Methyl Tertiary Butyl Ether (MTBE) in all gasoline in California. The first UC was the small problem that MTBEs dissolved the synthetic rubber used in older fuel lines and some plastics used in older fuel systems. This produced millions of dollars of repair bills to older vehicles. The most egregious UC is that MTBE is carcinogenic... and is finding its way into the California water table and our water supplies. It is also finding its way into vegetables, fruits and meats. Now THAT is a really scary unintended consequence.
Ah, I understand what you are saying now about the hysteria regarding his symptoms...
I also agree with everything you’ve spoken about in regards to long-term exposures, etc...
The one thing I did notice that was rather odd in regards to his purported ER visit was that the doctors nor the EMT supposedly knew ANYTHING about mercury exposure... that strikes me as a pretty wild “accusation” against these medical professionals. I can’t imagine a doctor not knowing anything about mercury poisoning, the effects, or protocol of such. Of course, we weren’t there, and perhaps the doctor was telling him there’s nothing they can do because he wasn’t experiencing an acute exposure, or effects... Or, maybe this guy in his anxious state just thought he was being ignored???
Anyway, your points are well taken. And, thank you for the information about CA and the MTBE issue. I wasn’t aware of that, and yes, that’s a worrisome thing for sure...