Organomercury compounds now only find limited use as fungicides, but methylmercury
was extensively used for this purpose in the past, until environmental effects were
discovered. The less toxic methoxymethylmercury is still sometimes used for wood
treatment or in the paper and pulp industry as an antislime agent. Thimerosal (ethylmercury
salicylate) has been widely used as a preservative in the pharmaceutical industry, for
example, in vaccines, but is now being phased out.