Compound name: Phenylmercury Acetate Chemical Class:
Organo-mercury Description: Phenylmercuric acetate is an organomercury compound. This compound was formerly used as a preservative in paints, and as a disinfectant. When applied to the leaves of plants, it is an antitranspirant. Phenylmercuric acetate (PMA) has been used against antifungal activity in agriculture and in leather processing and has known to work well. PMA has also been used as an additive in eye-drops and paint in order to preserve them, as a disinfectant, and as a catalyst in polyurethane systems. Inorganic mercury was used in the past in laxatives, skin-lightening creams and soaps, and in latex paint. In 1990, EPA canceled registration for all interior paints that contained mercury. Mercury use in exterior paint was discontinued after 1991. Database Links: CHEBI:27684
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