Mercury isotope effects in the environmental chemistry and biochemistry of mercury-containing compounds

Mercury isotope effects in environmentally significant chemical and biochemical reactions are considered. The recently discovered anomaly for the Hg-199 and Hg-201 magnetic nuclei proves that both chemical and biochemical transformations of mercury compounds (outside and inside living organisms) follow radical spin-selective mechanisms. The regularities of isotope fractionation in natural photochemical processes and in living tissues are discussed. The bibliography includes 22 references