A discovery regarding one of the most infamous cases of mercury poisoning in human history was made in Saskatoon recently.
According to researchers at the university of Saskatchewan the events that took place in Minamata, Japan during the 50’s and 60’s may have been caused by a previously unstudied form of mercury that came from a chemical factory.

Ashley James, PhD toxicology student at the U of S, explains that a cat brain specimen found in the area had been tested previously with conventional methods and puzzling results, but researchers at the U of S were able to utilize the power of the synchrotron.
“What we discovered was that it likely was not methyl mercury and in fact it was this other form of organic mercury that we know very little about.”

It is believed that thousands of people ingested the mercury when it was dumped into a water supply causing what is now called Minamata poisoning. Many people died from the poisoning but many more displayed symptoms like convulsions and paralysis.
For parts of study the USask team needed to travel to Stanford, one of North America’s other locations with synchrotron technology, however, James expressed how unique the research really is to Saskatchewan.
“All of the thought process, all the work outside of that was done here at the U of S. We have such amazing talents at our university, it’s incredible, which is really great for Saskatchewan of course. I think it puts us on the map.”