No state or political boundaries stops Mercury
April 2005 Weather Feature
Frank Watson, Meteorologist

With the states legislators in full swing this time of year one of the many enviromental issues being discussed is mercury. While glamour issues such as CO2, and global warming grab many of the enviromental headlines mercury remains a threat not only to our lakes and rivers but also in our food supply.

Mercury contamination knows no state or political boundaries. What your neighbor does down wind or what laws are in effect across state lines has a direct impact on what happens in your backyard.

Mercury is a metal that is found naturally in the environment. It is typically released into the atmosphere through industrial pollution, mainly coal burning power plants. From there it is carried by the wind and returns to the earth in raindrops, in dust or by gravity. After the mercury falls, it can end up in streams, lakes, or estuaries, where it can be turned into methyl mercury, which is harmful to humans.

Mercury is also be found in many household products such as, batteries, fluorescent lights, paint, thermometers and thermostats. Your state or local government may have already a collection site for recycling these products to prevent them from getting into the waste field.

Why is mercury harmful? Through the water cycle mercury will find its way into rivers, streams and lakes. Once there it works its way into the food supply of fish, as they eat and mercury builds up in them. Restrictions have been placed the amount of fish a person should eat, especially pregnant mothers where mercury could harm the unborn child.

While fish remains part of a healthy diet some fish contain more mercury than others. Shark, Swordfish, King Mackerel, or Tilefish contain higher levels of mercury and should be avoided. While all fish contain some level of mercury; shrimp, canned light tuna, salmon, Pollock, young panfish and catfish contain less.

While voluntary reductions are in place to reduce the amount of mercury emitted by fossil fuel plants state mandates seems to work best in reducing mercury emissions. Scrubbers, which reduce the amount of mercury emitted, are cited as costly by the industry, which would result in higher energy costs. New scrubber technology has lowered the cost for industry but since laws vary from state to state on the amount of mercury a power planet is allowed to emit there is little incentive to install new technology so mercury will continue to find its way into our food supply.

What we can do is continue to recycle household products, write our legislators voicing our concerns. Continue to explore and develop alternative energies such as bio-diesel, gasohol, solar and wind.

Frank Watson is a White Bear Lake, Minnesota meteorologist and can be found on the web at WeathermanWatson.com