The Roman god Mercury is the god of financial gain and commerce, among other things. The word “merchant” comes from the shared Latin root “merx,” meaning merchandise. He was also the swiftest of the gods and so gave his name to the planet with the fastest (shortest) orbit and a metal also known as “quicksilver”: both are now named after Mercury.
Given the link with financial gain and capitalism, it may come as no surprise that mercury (the metal) is today a major industrial pollutant. Gold mining, cement production, coal power stations, iron smelting, and PVC production all emit mercury as a waste product, causing some 1,960 metric tons15 to be dumped into the environment every year.
A lot of this mercury ends up in the oceans, and from there it moves into the food chain.