Wed Mar 16, 2005
08:02 PM ET
By Jim Forsyth
SAN ANTONIO, Texas (Reuters) - Mercury released primarily from coal-fired power plants may be contributing to an increase in the number of cases of autism, a Texas researcher said on Wednesday.
Read full article at URL: http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=healthNews&storyID=7926129
Another related article at URL:
Possible Mercury, Autism Connection Found in Study
Texas school districts with the highest level of the toxic metal had the highest rate of the disorder, researchers say.
By Thomas H. Maugh II
Times Staff Writer
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-sci-autism17mar17,1,3169057.story?coll=la-headlines-nation&ctrack=1&cset=true
Texas researchers have found a possible link between autism and mercury in the air and water. Studying individual school districts in Texas, the epidemiologists found that those districts with the highest levels of mercury in the environment also had the highest rates of special education students and autism diagnoses. The study does not prove that mercury causes autism, cautioned the lead author, Raymond F. Palmer of the University of Texas Health Science Center in San Antonio, but it provides a "provocative" clue that should be further investigated.
For more information and resources on autism, go to: http://www.autismconcepts.com/.
