Introduction:

Mercury is a heavy metal that can be found in nature in 3 primary forms: elemental; organic and inorganic. Intoxication of occupational origin is widely identified as occupational disease.

Methodology:

The case of a 30-year-old man, a boilermaker (welder assembler), is described as one of the teams responsible for replacing the carbon steel tubes of the exchanger where sulfur gases with mercury traces circulate. The initial symptoms were diarrhea with mucus and blood and inflammation of the gums, initially presenting a blood Hg concentration of 475.9mcg / L (VN = <10mcg / L) and a concentration of Hg in urine 939mcg / L (VN = <30mcg / L), not receiving treatment until after 6 months with DMPS on two occasions seeing a reduction of urinary values from 1830.47 to 7.38mcg / L. As a clinical result, he had severe mercurial erythemia, a secondary visual complex disorder, and a secondary autonomic neuropathic diarrheal syndrome. Consequently, this fact at the beginning was declared as an occupational accident, however, due to its evolution the INSS, a year later, gave the declaration of professional illness caused by mercury, thus was also given the absolute permanent disability for any profession or trade.

Conclusion:

The present paper aims to warn about the consequences of prolonged exposure to elemental mercury especially for the central nervous system, as well as early diagnosis and timely treatment. On the other hand, note the importance of adopting an adequate and effective preventive system to protect the health of workers exposed to mercury.

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