Editing Dimethylmercury (section)

==Safety==
Dimethylmercury is extremely toxic and dangerous to handle. Absorption of doses as low as 0.1&nbsp;mL can result in severe mercury poisoning.<ref name="OSHA" /> The risks are enhanced because of the compound's high [[vapor pressure]].<ref name="OSHA" /> Since it is highly lipophilic, it absorbs through the skin and into body fat very easily and can permeate many materials, including many plastics and rubber compounds.{{citation needed|date=January 2025}}

Permeation tests showed that several types of disposable latex or polyvinyl chloride gloves (typically, about 0.1&nbsp;mm thick), commonly used in most [[Laboratory|laboratories]] and clinical settings, had high and maximal rates of permeation by dimethylmercury within 15 seconds.<ref name="nejm">{{cite journal |last1=Nierenberg |first1=David W. |last2=Nordgren |first2=Richard E. |last3=Chang |first3=Morris B. |last4=Siegler |first4=Richard W. |last5=Blayney |first5=Michael B. |last6=Hochberg |first6=Fred |last7=Toribara |first7=Taft Y. |last8=Cernichiari |first8=Elsa |last9=Clarkson |first9=Thomas |title=Delayed Cerebellar Disease and Death after Accidental Exposure to Dimethylmercury |journal=[[New England Journal of Medicine]] |volume=338 |issue=23 |year=1998 |pages=1672–1676 |doi=10.1056/NEJM199806043382305 |pmid=9614258|doi-access=free }}</ref> The American [[Occupational Safety and Health Administration]] (OSHA) advises handling dimethylmercury with highly resistant laminated gloves with an additional pair of abrasion-resistant gloves worn over the laminate pair, and also recommends using a face shield and working in a [[fume hood]].<ref name="OSHA" /><ref name="story">{{cite journal |url=http://www.chm.bris.ac.uk/motm/dimethylmercury/dmmh.htm |first=Simon |last=Cotton| title=Dimethylmercury and Mercury Poisoning: The Karen Wetterhahn story |doi=10.6084/m9.figshare.5245807 |website=Molecule of the Month |publisher=[[Bristol University]] School of Chemistry |date=October 2003 |access-date=29 January 2021}}</ref>

Dimethylmercury is metabolized after several days to [[methylmercury]].<ref name="nejm" /> Methylmercury crosses the [[blood–brain barrier]] easily, probably owing to formation of a [[Coordination complex|complex]] with [[cysteine]].<ref name="story" /> It easily absorbs into the body and has a tendency to [[bioaccumulation|bioaccumulate]]. The symptoms of [[Mercury poisoning|poisoning]] may be delayed by months, resulting in cases in which a diagnosis is ultimately discovered, but only at a point in which it is too late or almost too late for an effective treatment regiment to be successful.<ref name="story" /> Methylmercury poisoning is also known as [[Minamata disease]].