American Anglers Warned to Watch Out for Mercury

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http://ens-news.com/ens/jun2003/2003-06-05-12.asp

 

 

American Anglers Warned to Watch Out for Mercury

 

 

By J.R. Pegg

 

WASHINGTON, DC, June 5, 2003 (ENS) - Mercury contamination is at crisis levels

in an increasing number of U.S. lakes and rivers, the Public Interest Research

Group (PIRG) warned today. In a new report PIRG says there are currently 43

states with advisories in effect for mercury contaminated fish, an increase of

some 60 percent over the past decade.

Nineteen states have issued statewide advisories, which urge people to avoid or

limit consumption of fish due to high levels of mercury, for all of their inland

freshwater lakes and/or rivers for at least one species of fish.

The report, " Fishing for Trouble, " finds that eleven states have issued

statewide advisories for their entire coastal areas for at least one species of

fish.

" We have known for years that mercury poses a serious threat to public health

and recreational fishing, but this report shows just how widespread the problem

really is, " said U.S. PIRG Staff Attorney Zach Corrigan.

The group reports that 30 percent of U.S. lakes and 13 percent of rivers were

under active mercury advisories in 2002, up 19 percent for lakes compared to

2001, and nine percent for rivers. The advisories vary by state and are for a

broad range of fish, including bass, yellow perch, lake trout, walleye, pike as

well as some salt water species such as tuna and swordfish.

PIRG timed the release of its report to coincide with National Fishing and

Boating Week, as the organization believes recreational fishers in particular

need to be aware of the concerns about mercury contamination. PIRG says

recreational fishers need to pay close attention to mercury advisories. (Photo

by George Gentry courtesy U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service)The economic health of

the $30 billion recreational fishing industry - and the health of part time

anglers - is at stake, according to PIRG's report.

The report finds that nine of the 19 states with mercury warnings covering all

of their inland lakes or rivers are also among the top twenty states for

expenditures on recreational fishing.

Five of the top ten states with the most lake acres under mercury advisory -

Minnesota, Wisconsin, Florida, Michigan, and Texas - are also in the top ten for

the amount of money spent towards recreational fishing. And two of the ten

states with the largest number of river miles under advisory, Florida and Ohio,

are also in the top ten for spending on fishing.

" We think the health advisories are responsible and that people should know

about them, " Michael Doebley, deputy director of governmental affairs for the

Recreational Fishing Alliance, told ENS.

" Most recreational anglers are aware of those advisories and will choose what to

eat and what not to eat accordingly, " said Doebley, who does not believe the

advisories present a serious economic risk to the recreational fishing industry

in and of themselves, unless they are used to promote limiting anglers access to

waters.

The federal government does not issue mercury health warnings, leaving states to

tackle the issue. The primary health risk from the toxic metal emerges when

airborne mercury falls into surface waters where it can accumulate in streams

and oceans. Bacteria in the water transform mercury into methylmercury, which

fish absorb when they eat aquatic organisms and humans absorb when they eat

fish.

Scientists have shown that methylmercury can cause brain and nerve damage and

studies indicate children and women of childbearing age are at a

disproportionate risk.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) says some eight percent of U.S.

women childbearing age has unsafe levels of mercury in their bodies.

PIRG's report contains heavy criticism of the Bush administration's " Clear

Skies " initiative, which it believes relaxes the existing law to cut mercury

emissions.

Coal-fired plants are the nation's largest source of mercury emissions, spewing

out some 50 tons of the toxic metal each year. Current emissions of mercury add

to the existing pool, which is continuously mobilized, deposited on land and

water, and remobilized.

But coal-fired plants are exempt from clean air standards - the other two large

sources of mercury, which are medical and municipal waste incinerators, are

tightly regulated and emissions have been reduced by more than 90 percent since

1990. Tightening emissions standards for coal-fired power plants is key to

reducing mercury emissions. (Photo courtesy New Mexico Solar Energy

Association)But under the Clean Air Act, the EPA is mandated to issue " maximum

achievable control technology " standards for coal-fired power plants, with

compliance by the end of 2007.

In December 2001, the EPA said these standards could reduce mercury emissions

from power plants by some 90 percent, reducing the total to some five tons by

2007.

The administration says its air pollution plan would reduce mercury emissions

more efficiently, by installing a cap of 26 tons in 2010 and 15 tons in 2018.

Bush administration officials, and the coal fired power plant industry, believe

that the technology to cut mercury emissions is unproven and too expensive to be

forced upon the industry at this time.

Environmentalists and some in Congress do not buy this position and insist that

Clear Skies does nothing but roll back existing law and allow more mercury in

the air, for longer.

" The Bush administration needs to clean up the oldest and dirtiest power plants

that are spewing this mercury - not let them off the hook, " said Angela Ledford,

director of Clear the Air.

The law is waiting to be enforced, added PIRG's Corrigan, and the " epidemic of

mercury fish warnings should tell us that we are at a crossroads. "

The PIRG report can be found at http://www.uspirg.org

 

 

 

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