Several fatal cases of chemical poisoning dimethylmercury

Dimethylmercury (CAS No. 593-74-8) is effectively absorbed by inhalation or skin penetration. When absorbed, dimethylmercury is converted to methylmercury in living organisms. Several fatal cases of chemical poisoning have been described (Hunter, 1955; Nierenberg et al., 1998). The symptomology and toxicokinetics were the same as those observed after exposure to methylmercury compounds. A significant delay of 5 months between a single exposure and the onset of neurological symptoms has been reported in fatal poisoning cases (Nierenberg et al., 1998). Such a long delay may indicate that dimethylmercury is distributed in fat depots and subsequently released slowly in the demethylated form.
Once, Me2Hg was used as a methylating agent in organic synthesis; but due to its toxicity, it has been replaced by safer reagents such as dimethyl zinc, trimethyl aluminum, methyl magnesium halide (Grignard reagent).
Mercury sparked another tragic event in Hanover, New Hampshire. The story of Dartmouth College chemistry professor Karen E. Wetterhahn made national headlines after she died at the age of 48 from exposure to dimethylmercury (DMM). In August 1996, Wetterhahn, a toxic metals expert, was awarded a $7 million federal grant to study toxic metals. She was poisoned in the lab by a drop of the experimental mercury compound DMM, which accidentally seeped into her latex gloves and soaked into her skin. Symptoms gradually started like stomach flu, but then she started banging on doors and falling suddenly. Speech became difficult, her hands tingled, and she was rushed to the emergency room 5 months after the spill. Symptoms then developed rapidly: By the weekend, she was unable to walk, her speech was slurred and her hands were shaking. Mercury poisoning was diagnosed and treatment began, but little was known about the rare man-made chemical DMM, a colorless liquid that looked like water but was three times heavier than other forms of mercury and far more toxic. Dr. Wetterhahn fell ill and was hospitalized in January 1997. She soon fell into a coma and died in June of that year. As a result of her tragedy, safety standards for gloves and other protective equipment were revised, and a movement began to eliminate the production and use of this deadliest form of mercury. The first indications of the extreme toxicity of DMM were recorded in 1863, when two laboratory assistants died of DMM poisoning while synthesizing DMM in the Frankland and Duppa laboratories. Another case of DMM poisoning occurred in 1972, when a Czech chemist developed symptoms similar to Dr. Wetterhahn's and eventually died. For more information, see Dimethylmercury.

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