Mercury is a compound that can be found naturally in the environment. It can be found in metal form, as mercury salts or as organic mercury compounds.

Metallic mercury is used in a variety of household products, such as barometers, thermometers and fluorescent light bulbs. The mercury in these devices is trapped and usually does not cause any health problems. However, when a thermometer will break a significantly high exposure to mercury through breathing will occur for a short period of time while it vaporizes. This can cause harmful effects, such as nerve, brain and kidney damage, lung irritation, eye irritation, skin rashes, vomiting and diarrhoea.

Mercury is not naturally found in foodstuffs, but it may turn up in food as it can be spread within food chains by smaller organisms that are consumed by humans, for instance through fish. Mercury concentrations in fish usually greatly exceed the concentrations in the water they live in. Meat can also contain eminent quantities of mercury, especially after environmental pollution of fields. Mercury is not commonly found in plant products, but it can enter human bodies through vegetables and other crops, when sprays that contain mercury are applied in agriculture.

Mercury has a number of effects on humans, that can all of them be simplified into the following main effects:
- Disruption of the nervous system
- Damage to brain functions
- DNA damage and chromosomal damage
- Allergic reactions, resulting in skin rashes, tiredness and headaches
- Negative reproductive effects, such as sperm damage, birth defects and miscarriages

Damaged brain functions can cause degradation of learning abilities, personality changes, tremors, vision changes, deafness, loss of muscle co-ordination and memory loss. Chromosomal damage is known to cause mongolism.

Mercury toxicity from foods is very rare and nearly always caused due to environmental pollution.