"Mercury exposure in the United States increases with age, then starts tapering off when people turn 50, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found in a study released today.

The CDC study is the first to measure mercury exposure in a wider U.S. population, following research that focused on young children and women in their childbearing years. People are often exposed to mercury through contaminated seafood, and a recent U.S. EPA survey found that almost half of U.S. freshwater fish carry mercury in excess of federal safe levels for human consumption.

The CDC data are part of a project assessing chemicals in people's bodies. The agency has added 75 contaminants to its database, bringing the total to 212 chemicals."

Sara Goodman reports for Greenwire December 11, 2009. [2]