Mercury pickling

Mercury pickling are a group of metal-organic compounds of mercury , which for pickling of seed were used.

These include phenyl mercury chloride (Uspulun), phenyl mercury acetate (Agrosan D, PMA), phenyl mercury pyrocatechol (Germisan), ethyl mercury chloride (Fusariol) and methoxyethyl mercury gamma-silicate (Ceresan -Universal compounds), Ceresan -universal compounds, Meresan-Morkit, Meresan-Morkit.

Around 1895, the good effects of mercury chloride against seed-borne fungal diseases in grain were recognized in America. Building on this, the first mercury pickling solution was launched in July 1914 by the chemical company Bayer under the brand name Uspulun .

In 1930 around 800 tons of mercury pickling agent were used in the German Reich . 40 to 50 percent of the seed grain and even 80 percent for wheat were already dressed at that time.

In the 1970s, mercury pickling agents were replaced as a pickling agent by less toxic chemical-synthetic compounds. Their use was banned in the FRG in 1981.

Mercury pickling
Surname	Phenyl mercury chloride	Phenyl mercury acetate	Phenylmercury catechol	Ethyl mercury chloride	Methoxyethyl mercury silicate
Structural formula
CAS number	100-56-1	62-38-4	3688-11-7	107-27-7	22577-66-8
Molecular formula	C 6 H 5 ClHg	C 8 H 8 HgO 2	C 12 H 10 HgO 2	C 2 H 5 ClHg	C 3 H 10 HgO 5 Si
Molar mass	313.14 g mol −1	336.74 g mol −1	386.8 g mol −1	265.1 g mol −1	354.78 g mol −1
PubChem	10448266	16682730	16684354	7862	31427
Physical state	firmly
Brief description		beige, odorless crystalline powder	colorless, crystalline powder	silver colored solid
Melting point	248-250 ° C	decomposes at 147–150 ° C	245.5 ° C	193 ° C
density		2.4 g cm −3		3.482 g cm −3
solubility		sparingly soluble in water (4.37 g l −1 at 15 ° C)		insoluble in water, slightly soluble in ether
GHS labeling	danger	danger	danger	danger
H and P phrases	300-310-330-373-410	301-314-372-410	300-310-330-373-410	300-310-330-373-410
	260-273-280-301 + 310 + 330-302 + 352-304 + 340 + 310	273-280-301 + 310-305 + 351 + 338-210-501
LD 50 (oral, rat)	60 mg kg −1	41 mg kg −1	30 mg kg −1	40 mg kg −1	1140 mg kg −1

Web links

• Peter Wensierski: We are afraid for our children. In: Der Spiegel , edition 29/1985, pp. 62-68, from July 15, 1985.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Bayer SeedGrowth - 100 Years of Innovation. Retrieved October 10, 2017 . 
2. ↑ Pickling - so that young plants remain undamaged | Agricultural industry association. Retrieved October 10, 2017 . 
3. ↑ ^{a b c d e f} Entry on phenyl mercury acetate in the GESTIS substance database of the IFA , accessed on August 7, 2013 (JavaScript required)
4. ↑ ^{a b c d} Entry on phenylmercury pyrocatechol in the GESTIS substance database of the IFA , accessed on August 7, 2013 (JavaScript required)
5. ↑ ^{a b c d} data sheet Ethylmercury chloride at AlfaAesar, accessed on August 10, 2013 ( PDF )(JavaScript required) .
6. ↑ ^{a b c d} data sheet Phenylmercury chloride, PESTANAL at Sigma-Aldrich , accessed on November 2, 2016 ( PDF ).
7. ↑ Entry Phenylmercury catecholate at GuideChem, accessed on November 6, 2013.
8. ↑ ^{a b} Datasheet Phenylmercuric acetate from Sigma-Aldrich , accessed on August 7, 2013 ( PDF ).
9. ↑ ^{a b} Entry on mercury compounds, organic in the GESTIS substance database of the IFA , accessed on August 7, 2013 (JavaScript required)
10. ↑ Entry Phenylmercuric chloride in ChemIDPlus, accessed on November 6, 2013.
11. ↑ Knopf, Burkhard: Methylation of inorganic mercury in the intestinal tract of the compost worm Eisenia foetida ( Memento of the original from March 4, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (PDF; 1.7 MB); Dissertation University of Mainz (2010), urn : nbn: de: hebis: 77-27215 , p. 18: LD ₅₀ values ​​of some mercury compounds (Greenwood and von Burg, 1984). 
12. ↑ Mercury data sheet , (2-methoxyethyl) (trihydrogen orthosilicato) - from Chemcas, accessed on November 6, 2013.