Dr. Halsey's presentation at the National Vaccine Advisory Committee Workshop on Thimerosal and Vaccines held in Bethesda, Maryland on August 11-12, 1999.

Slide Notes:

As noted by Kathryn R. Mahaffey, PhD, the EPA estimates that seven percent of women of childbearing age consume sufficient fish to have a mercury exposure of about 0.1 micrograms per kilogram per day, the upper level that EPA considers to be safe. The EPA also notes that about one percent of women of childbearing age are consuming 0.37 micrograms or more per kilogram of mercury per day, which is more than the ATSDR reference value.

Thus, some children are being born with mercury from their mother’s exposures that are above the guidelines provided by EPA, ATSDR, and WHO. Although safety factors have been built into these guidelines, we do not know what the effects of additional mercury will be on the developing brain.