The Beacon
Jeremy Piven's Mercury Scare
Actor Jeremy Piven has mercury poisoning from eating too much sushi (often two meals a day), forcing him to leave the Broadway play Speed-the-Plow.
Piven, who appears in TV's Entourage, suffered from fatigue, dizziness, neuro-muscular dysfunction and problems lifting his arms and legs. His doctor found his body's mercury level "almost six times the upper limit of normal and allowable."
Playwright David Mamet joked that Piven was leaving show business to "pursue a career as a thermometer."
Ok, that's funny, but mercury poisoning is no laughing matter -- it can be fatal -- and it's especially dangerous for women of childbearing age and children since their nervous systems are still developing. Oceana's Stop Seafood Contamination Campaign is working to get mercury out of our waterways and seafood, and to spread awareness about the FDA's warnings.
2 Comments
December 24, 2008 - 00:58
It's a shame that a healthy
It's a shame that a healthy food such as sushi can turn into something poisonous. I wonder if people in Japan have the same issues with metal poisoning.
Rafael_U
January 5, 2009 - 00:04
Mercury poisoning......
Emmy winning actor Jeremy Piven was getting serious amounts of cash for his appearance in a Broadway play, "Speed the Plow," by David Mamet. He had to leave the production due to a high mercury count in his system. The director has called the ailment, which can actually turn deadly, bogus, despite orders from a doctor (acting/directing schools typically do not have an MD program) to stop working and seek treatment immediately. Mercury, though almost always present in trace levels in the human body, is a very toxic element and it has deadly side effects from exposure to even small amounts. We know that Mercury performs useful functions in our workplaces and in our homes, but then, it is a toxic and can impair our health.