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April 21, 2005                                               pelwood@venturecommunications.com

NEW STUDY SHOWS VACCINE MERCURY RESULTS IN MORE THAN
TWICE AS MUCH MERCURY BEING TRAPPED IN THE BRAIN

SafeMinds Recommends Additional Research Funding into the Neurological Impact of
the Mercury-Based Preservative Thimerosal

Washington, DC—A study funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and
conducted by University of Washington researcher Thomas M. Burbacher, PhD
concludes that the mercury-based vaccine preservative thimerosal is more hazardous than
medical professionals previously believed. SafeMinds, Sensible Action For Ending
Mercury Induced Neurological Disorders, urges further research into the health risks
created by the presence of thimerosal in vaccines administered to children and pregnant
women.

Some health officials have suggested that the mercury in thimerosal is less toxic than
other forms of mercury such as methylmercury, the highly toxic environmental form of
mercury. This groundbreaking study, however titled “Comparison of Blood and Brain
Mercury Levels in Infant Monkeys Exposed to Methylmercury or Vaccines Containing
Thimerosal,” is the first of its kind to show that thimerosal’s mercury may actually be
more harmful than methylmercury. The reason is the type of mercury in thimerosal –
ethylmercury – quickly crosses the blood-brain barrier where it converts to a form that is
unable to leave the brain. Dr. Burbacher’s study shows that twice as much mercury
remains trapped in the brain from doses of ethylmercury in thimerosal compared to equal
doses of methylmercury.

“These new findings undermine the position of vaccine makers, who have long denied
harm from exposing a generation of children to excessive levels of mercury as a needless
additive in vaccines,” said Sallie Bernard, co-founder of Safe Minds. “This study is yet
another step in the complete reversal of scientific assumptions about the effects of
thimerosal.”

The Institute of Medicine issued a report in 2004 that stated that there was no causal link
between thimerosal and neurological disorders like autism. Inorganic mercury, which is
what thimerosal leaves behind in the brain, contributes to microgliosis, a recently
reported finding in the brains of those with autism. In light of these new findings Safe
Minds recommends a complete reevaluation of this issue by the Institute of Medicine.
“This study contradicts the assumption that mercury from thimerosal [ethylmercury] is
safer than environmental mercury [methylmercury] from eating fish and emissions from
coal-fired power plants,” said Mark Blaxill, a board member of Safe Minds and an expert
cited in the Burbacher study. “This study should compel government agencies to retract
their flawed and premature conclusions regarding thimerosal and stick to the facts.”

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