Strollerderby

Yeah, but you'd think if it were the thimerosal, ONE of the many studies designed specifically to investigate that possibility would have found an effect.  Or that the rates would have gone down since the thimerosal was removed from all vaccines except for the flu shot.  

Environmental mercury could be having an effect, or the correlation could be due to some other polluting substance (I tend to think that areas with a lot of mercury pollution is probably polluted by other stuff as well).  It's worth investigating.  It doesn't bolster anything having to do with vaccinations.

Well said, diera.  Why aren't the vax-cause-autism people talking about mercury in water, and say, the mercury-containing fish consumed by pregnant moms and young kids?

I'd belive an environmental connection, sure.  Autism has been around longer than the MMR, after all.  But bringing up the thimerosal-vax link is just a way to raise hackles at this point.

Other factors in addition to potential other pollutants involved: people often living near industrial sites are low-income, which come with a whole other assortment of issues like poor nutrition, poor healthcare, etc.

Mercury is BAD stuff, I'd love to see more studies to show stronger links so we can get the EPA and the feds to take things like coal-burning power plant pollution (#1 source of mercury pollution) more seriously and clean them up or shut them down.

KD: "Why aren't the vax-cause-autism people talking about mercury in water, and say, the mercury-containing fish consumed by pregnant moms and young kids?"

Because it's easier to demonize the medical profession for INTENTIONALLY and KNOWINGLY poisoning our children than to, say, work for environmental reforms. Last time I checked, the federal government wasn't paying nearly the same court settlements as private medical practices.

Nor, for that matter, does environmental-mercury make such good media fodder. "Evil doctors" are so much more titillating!

I am a scientist and in the 90's when I was in grad school we were all talking about this very subject.  But no one listened.  Why?  Because the big energy companies cant afford to be blamed for mercury in our water, soil, air and food from coal burning plants, which are our number one source of power in this country.  Odd that something this compelling gets no attention from our government agencies and branches.  You know, the same ones that told everyone the air was "safe" to breath in NYC after 9/11.  Yeah, those idiots.  Whether or not is causes autism or not, it is not healthy and is often lethal.  Let's do something people.  Will another 15 years go by before I see this subject crop up again?

Being the parent of a mercury toxic (autistic) 10 year old, I as well as most within the autistic community understand the issues that tie this community to the environmental issues. The so called "experts" within the government (CDC, FDA, AAP etc) were saying that autism was strictly genetic. There is a genetic component I have no doubt an example is mine and my husbands childhood and early adult years. We were both raised in homes heated by coal furnaces (burn off being of course mercury vapors), we both grew up in the coal regions of Pennsylvania, we both have/had "silver" (mercury) fillings, and the icing on the toxic cake, we were both in the military subject to God knows how many experimental vaccines and other toxins.

So yes the environmental side of "autism" is well understood. As to the studies done that disprove the link between autism and thimerasol, the studies never claimed to disprove the association. All they say is the studies don't prove a connection. Also one must consider who actually is paying for the studies. And no matter where the studies are generated from they all share the same common factor; the governments are paying/funding these studies. So obviously these studies are not unbiased.

As to the rates going down after the removal of thimerasol, well that is questionable to begin with. Back in 1999 the FDA, AAP and CDC "recommended" the removal of thimerasol. They did not mandate it. To that end the drug cartels say they have removed it (except for trace amounts which by FDA laws do NOT even have to be listed) except for the Flu shot, the tetanus shot and the TB test. The problem is no one is actually testing these vaccines to see if thimerasol has actually been removed. So we take the word of the drug cartels, the very establishments responsible (in part) for this epidemic. I don't think so. Also consider the following; thimerasol (mercury) is ONLY ONE of the toxins that we need to be concerned with. There are many others in vaccines. Add to that the process with which vaccines are made is another health issue. The vaccine schedule is still another health issue. So you can see that mercury is only ONE small part of the problem.

As to why the autistic community isn't focusing more on the environmental mercury issue, well honestly living with our children, battling the establishments (just name one), trying to heal our children, and trying to get people to listen is very exhausting. Some of us (myself included) are trying to raise awareness of environmental issues but there are only so many hours in the day and so much energy to do it all.

If anyone here is interested; I have a group on yahoo called autism and vaccinations (health.groups.yahoo.com/.../autism_and_vaccinations) where the issue of environmental concerns is part of the group.

The trace amounts of thimerasol in vaccines can't even begin compete with the amount of mercury we breathe in, eat and drink every day thanks to our polluted environment. You want to talk conspiracies? Then let's look at unregulated industry rather than the companies who produce vaccines and the doctors who give them. Even if thimerasol could cause autism, how do you explain the fact that autism is hugely on the rise since thimerasol was removed from all but one childhood vaccine in 2002?

TO: Please stop beating a dead horse; You obviously didn't comprehend what I wrote so I won't both writing it again. I will write this though, the amount of thimerasol in vaccines have NOT been proven to be "trace" as no testing is being done on the new vaccine supply.

AND your time line is all wrong. The recommendation that came down in 1999 did nothing to remove the supplies of vaccines that were all ready laced with thimerasol and the last of those vaccines were not used up until 2005/2006.

Before you speak educate yourself. I have been studying the effects of mercury both in the environment and in vaccines for 7 years now. AND I agree the environment is a HUGE issue as is the vaccines.

As to the amount of mercury in the environment vs what is in the vaccines; don't you think that our government should be doing EVERYTHING possible to limit our exposure from ALL sources. Including vaccines?

IF you are as one track minded and narrow minded in your thoughts and you are a sampling of what the environmental side is like then nothing is about to change. What "we" meaning both the vaccine and environmental camps; need to do is unite as one solid front. Until then nothing will change.

That is exactly what the criminals are banking on.