Mercury in Medicine – Taking Unnecessary Risks
A Report Prepared by the Staff of the Subcommittee on Human Rights and Wellness Committee on Government Reform
United States House of Representatives
Chairman Dan Burton
May 22003



Mercury in Medicine – Taking Unnecessary Risks
I. Executive Summary 

Vaccines are the only medicines that American citizens are mandated to receive  as a condition for school and day care attendance, and in some instances, employment.  Additionally, families who receive federal assistance are also required to show proof that  their children have been fully immunized. While the mandate for which vaccines must  be adminis  tered is a state mandate, it is the Federal Government, through the Centers for  Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and its Advisory Committee for Immunization  Practices that make the Universal Immunization Recommendations to which the majority  of states  defer when determining mandates. Since the early to mid  -  1990’s, Congress has  been concerned about the danger posed by mercury in medical applications, and in 1997,  directed the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to evaluate the human exposure to  mercury t  hrough foods and drugs.  In 1999, following up on the FDA evaluation and pursuant to its authority, the House  Committee on Government Reform initiated an investigation into the dangers of exposure to  mercury through vaccination. The investigation later  expanded to examine the potential danger  posed through exposure to mercury in dental amalgams. This full committee investigation  complemented and built upon the investigations initiated by two of its subcommittees.  1  In  January 2003, the investigation con  tinued in the newly formed Subcommittee on Human Rights  and Wellness.  A primary concern that arose early in the investigation of vaccine safety was the  exposure of infants and young children to mercury, a known toxin, through mandatory  childhood immunizat  ions. This concern had been raised as a possible underlying factor  in the dramatic rise in rates of late  -  onset or “acquired” autism. The symptoms of autism  are markedly similar to those of mercury poisoning.  Significant concern has been raised about t  he continued use of mercury in medical  applications decades after the recognition that mercury can be harmful, especially to our most  vulnerable population  –  our children. This report will address one form of mercury in medical  applications, Thimerosal  2  ,  as a preservative in vaccines.  In July 2000, it was estimated that 8,000 children a day were being exposed to mercury in  excess of Federal guidelines through their mandatory vaccines...