While most people have heard that the mercury based preservative thimerosal was used in infant vaccines and continues to be used in several vaccine preparations, most consumers have no idea that mercury is also a commonly used ingredient in other pharmaceutical products including nasal sprays, eye drops, ear drops and injectable testosterone.

Several hundred peer-reviewed scientific studies have been published over the last seven decades by leading research scientists and public health agencies confirming that thimerosal is a potent neurotoxin. It has never been proven safe for medical use—and cost-effective alternatives exist.

FDA: Confusion and Contradictions

There are, at last count, 130 FDA-approved pharmaceutical products which contain mercury. The typical amount of mercury in these products is 50,000 ppb. To put this in perspective, the EPA requires liquid waste which exceeds 200 ppb of mercury to be sent to a special hazardous waste landfill and according to the EPA, drinking water cannot exceed 2 ppb of mercury. So, technically, if these products are not used, they must be disposed of as hazardous waste.

What makes the fact that mercury continues to be used in medical products even more disturbing is that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has recognized the inherent risks from the use of mercury in medicine since 1975 when they convened an expert panel to review its use in over-the-counter (OTC) products. The FDA published proposed rules in the Federal Register Vol. 47, No, 2 on January 5, 1982 that found mercury containing products were toxic, caused cell death, and in the case of thimerosal, were only as effective as water when used as a preservative. The panel members concluded that all mercury based preservatives used in over-the-counter products should be labeled as category II, “not being generally recognized as being safe or effective.”