USA:Mercury in EVERY Fish Tested From Hundreds of Streams, Rivers
Mercury found in every U.S. fish tested -- chicagotribune.com
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Dina Cappiello, Associated Press
August 20, 2009
WASHINGTON - -- A federal study of mercury contamination released Wednesday found the toxic substance in every fish tested at nearly 300 streams across the country, a finding that underscores how widespread mercury pollution has become.
From 1998 to 2005, scientists collected and tested more than a thousand fish from 291 streams nationwide.
While all fish had traces of mercury contamination, only about a quarter had levels exceeding what the Environmental Protection Agency says is safe for people eating average amounts of fish.
"This science sends a clear message that our country must continue to confront pollution," Interior Secretary Ken Salazar said in a statement.
Mercury can damage the nervous system and cause learning disabilities in developing fetuses and young children. The main source of the mercury, according to the researchers, is emissions from coal-fired power plants. The mercury rains down into waterways where natural processes convert it into methylmercury -- a form that allows the toxin to wind its way up the food chain into fish.
Some of the highest levels in fish were detected in the remote blackwater streams along the coasts of the Carolinas, Georgia, Florida and Louisiana where surrounding forests and wetlands help in the conversion.
Mercury was also detected in high concentrations in Western streams that drain areas mined for mercury and gold.
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