Is skin permeable by mercury?

A friend of mine claims it "soaked into her skin" but I rather don't believe her. There are several reasons I don't, but the main reason is that I feel almost positive that I've seen people play with mercury in their hands before and it didn't permeate their skin.





Does anyone know for sure one way or the other? Please don't guess, I've already guessed and I don't need the guesses of others.
Is skin permeable by mercury?
Not very. It's perfectly safe to play with a little once or twice. On the other hand, repeated, prolonged exposure can eventually allow a clinically significant amount to be absorbed. The story is that workers using mercury to treat the leather in hatbands is how we got the phrase "mad as a hatter," though the story's probably apocryphal.
Is skin permeable by mercury?
So an anecdote is better than references to peer-reviewed sources?





I don't think you should try to become a scientist, then. Report It

Reply:Mercuy does get absorbed thru the skin. However, the body does not rid of it. Same with lead.
Reply:yes, it can seep through your pores and get into your blood, poisoning you.
Reply:The term "mad hatter" comes from the old days when hats had mercury in them. The hatters wore the hats all the time, and eventually went nuts. So I do believe you can absorb mercury through your skin, and your friends who played with mercury were risking their health.





From wikipedia: "Mercury and many of its chemical compounds, especially organomercury compounds, can also be readily absorbed through direct contact with bare, or in some cases (such as dimethyl mercury) insufficiently protected, skin."
Reply:I used to play with it too. It's surface tension is so huge that I can't imagine its being able to penetrate the skin except as droplets. The main danger of mercury is dropping it onto a floor, because you'll never get it all up, and if enough of it accumulates, it becomes part of the atmosphere in that room through evaporation.
Reply:Yes, mercury can soak into the skin just as any liquid. It is also highly toxic. Your friend should see a doctor as soon as possible. Mercury should not be handled by unprotected skin.
Reply:Yes but not much it requires a special preparation to get a significant amount absorbed.


Dimethylmercury, however, is dangerous.


http://molinterv.aspetjournals.org/cgi/c...





http://pubs.acs.org/cgi-bin/sample.cgi/e...