Question

PASSAGE
Environmental toxins which can affect children are frighteningly commonplace. Besides lead, there are other heavy metals
such as mercury, which are found frequently in fish, that are spewed into the air from coal-fired power plants, says
Maureen Swanson, MPA, Director of the Healthy Children Project at the Learning Disabilities Association of America.
Mercury exposure can impair children's memory, attention, and language abilities and interfere with fine motor and visual
spatial skills. A recent study of school districts in Texas showed significantly higher levels of autism in areas with elevated
levels of mercury in the environment. "Researchers are finding harmful effects at lower levels of exposure", says Swanson.
"They're now telling us that they don't know if there's a level of mercury that's safe."
Unfortunately, some of these chemicals make good flame retardants and have been widely used in everything from
upholstery to televisions to children's clothing, Studies have found them in high levels in household dust. Two categories of
these flame retardants have been banned in Europe and are starting to be banned by different states in the United States.
The number of toxins in our environment that can affect children may seem overwhelming at times. On at least some
fronts, however, there is progress in making the world a cleaner place for kids, and just possibly, reducing the number of
learning disabilities and neurological problems. With a number of efforts to clean up the environment stalled at the federal
level, many State Governments are starting to lead the way. And rather than tackling one chemical at a time, at least eight
states are considering plans for comprehensive chemical reform bills, which would take toxic chemicals off the market.​

Answer 1

In the given paragraph, the harmful effects of mercury are highlighted.

• Mercury which is one of the toxic elements has harmful effects on the human body as well as on the environment.

• The gulp of air of elemental mercury vapors can cause nervous and behavioral diseases, for example wakefulness, memory loss, neuromuscular vicissitudes, and headaches.

• They can also damage the kidneys and thyroid. High contacts have also led to deaths.

Answer 2

Explanation:

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