Analysis Of Mercury In Vaccines

Analysis Of Mercury In Vaccines

This is an analysis of Mercury used in human vaccines, but it can also be applied to pet vaccines.

Currently, babies who are two months old receive the following four vaccines:

A review of the vaccine manufacturers' inserts (i.e., the written descriptions that are shipped with the actual vaccines) indicates that these vaccines include three chemicals that are known to be harmful to humans at concentrations specified by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency: mercury, formaldehyde, and ethylene glycol. These vaccines contain other potentially harmful additives (e.g., aluminum) as well. The amount of mercury injected into infants is discussed below.

MERCURY The harmful effects of mercury are documented and well-known. The U.S. EPA has established a daily "reference dose" or Rfd, which is the maximum amount that humans should be exposed to in a 24-hour period. For mercury, this amount is 0.1 ug for each kg of body weight. So, let's assume that a typical two-month old weighs 5 kg. Following the EPA's guideline, a two-month old should have no more than 0.5 ug of mercury in one day.

Let's take a look at the amount of mercury in each recommended vaccines that a two-year old would receive:

(Note: Calculations are based on information provided in vaccine inserts and a presentation by Neal A. Halsey, MD, Director of the Institute for Vaccine Safety at Johns Hopkins University. According to Dr. Halsey, thimerosal contains 49.6% methylmercury by weight.)

The total amount of mercury is 62.5 ug. So, a two-month old receiving all four vaccines at two months receives 125 times the Rfd dose. According to the EPA's web site www.epa.gov/ngispgm3/iris/subst, the Rfd for methylmercury has an uncertainty factor of 10. Therefore, the two-month dose is 12.5 times the Rfd when we consider the uncertainty factor.

Currently, thimerosal-containing vaccines are being replaced by thimerosal-free vaccines. Unfortunately, some states (e.g.,Massachusetts) will not begin administering the newer vaccines until the older ones have been used up. According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), removing mercury is only a precautionary measure. They assert that the amounts of mercury injected into vaccines fell within known safety ranges (www.cdc.gov/nip/vacsafe/concerns/thimerosal/thimerosal.htm). Obviously, the CDC's claim conflicts with the above analysis.

Kevin B. Kuechler kkuechler@mediaone.net