mercury in mr fishy

[Guest guest]

But recent reports saying that as little as half a can of tuna per day

contains enough mercury to be harmful to developing fetuses, infants and

young children make it apparent that dolphin safety isn't your only concern.

Tuna, other seafood and freshwater fish, many experts say, contain dangerous

levels of mercury. The fish are often contaminated by emissions from

coal-fired power plants, incinerators and other industrial facilities that

end up in the water, where mercury turns into its organic form,

methylmercury, and accumulates in fish tissue.

" We have very few cases in the environmental community where the detrimental

effects are as clear as they are with mercury, " says Jackie Savitz,

executive director of Coast Alliance, a coalition of 300 environmental

groups across the country. " We're looking at over 1,600 fish advisories for

mercury in the U.S. in 1996 alone. That means there are 1,600 places where

people can't fish out of their local waters safely. "

Savitz says pregnant women represent the No. 1 risk group for mercury

consumption because mercury can cross the placenta.

The second group at most risk is children because their nervous systems are

just developing and are more sensitive to toxic exposure. " Effects at lower

levels of mercury contamination are subtle, more obscure and, in a way, more

dangerous, " Savitz says.

" Most people probably know a child who didn't develop neurologically as

quickly as he or she should have. Delayed neurological development is

actually the result that would be caused by mercury poisoning. "

Finding the source

Coal-fired power plants are the leading source of mercury contamination in

the U.S., and represent an estimated 33 percent of mercury emissions.

Municipal, industrial and medical waste incinerators contribute another 29

percent to the annual release of about 158 tons of mercury. " The most

obvious way to reduce mercury emissions is to stop burning coal, " Savitz

says. " There are also technologies that remove mercury at the stack level. "

" Electric utilities are getting a free ride on their mercury pollution, "

agrees Morman, a policy associate with the Environmental Law and

Policy Center. " While other sources are cleaning up, there are no

requirements for power plants to cut their emissions. "

Newer technologies and waste segregation could reduce mercury emissions from

another major source. Health Care Without Harm is encouraging hospitals to

replace medical devices with nonmercury alternatives. For example, many

hospitals are switching to non-mercury thermometers.

Another focus of reform is simply good housekeeping: requiring mercury to be

separated out so it doesn't end up in an incinerator -- and then in fish

that people eat. The state of New Jersey insists that mercury in hospitals

be segregated, and this has reduced that state's medical waste mercury

emissions a hundred fold.

The specter of dioxin

Besides mercury, PCB and dioxin contamination of fish is also a concern. All

three compounds have harmful effects on developing fetuses and infants, and

are passed from mother to child both through the placenta and breastfeeding,

according to Dr. Amy , principal author and researcher of " Contaminated

Catch: The Public Health Threat from Toxics in Fish, " published last April

by the Natural Resources Defense Council.

" Methylmercury is a potent neurotoxin that affects the nervous system and

brain development, " says. " PCBs affect the mental and physical

development of children and are thought to cause cancer. Dioxins have

reproductive, developmental, and immune system effects and are one of the

more potent carcinogens ever tested in animals. "

Toxic fish can be a problem no matter where you live, and the amount and

types of contamination can vary widely depending on the species and size of

the fish. The Great Lakes states are highly impacted, and have the largest

number of fish advisories. But mercury also tends to accumulate in reservoir

fish, which may be a concern in Western states, where reservoir fishing is

common and water testing is not performed regularly.

Campaigns to draw attention to mercury and other toxins in fish have drawn

criticism from seafood industry representatives, who say the public

shouldn't be scared away from eating a healthy source of protein.

responds that while eating fish can reduce the incidence of heart diseases,

fish are also the most significant source of mercury and PCBs that people

absorb into their bodies.

" The contaminants found in fish have been linked to a number of long-term

health effects, including problems with the reproductive system,

development, intelligence and the balance of the hormones in our bodies, "

says. " Several toxic compounds cause cancer.

Some damage the immune system so that it is less capable of fighting off

disease. Others affect the nervous system.

" People who eat fish are being forced to make sense out of complicated and

sometimes contradictory warnings, and to calculate for themselves how many

servings of different kinds of fish are safe to eat. People who are catching

their own fish, either through sport or subsistence fishing, need to find

out if state or county health departments have issued advisories. That will

tell them what species and what areas are more likely to be contaminated,

and that they should either avoid or limit their consumption. "

While fish caught in contaminated waterways are of concern, tuna in the can

is considered the biggest risk because of its availability and consumption.

Testing by the FDA revealed that 100 percent of samples of oil-packed tuna

contained mercury. The FDA also found mercury in the other most common

seafood available at the supermarket: It's in about 90 percent of commercial

haddock and shrimp, and in 75 percent of frozen fish sticks.

Toxins in fish can also poison birds, marine mammals and other wildlife, and

are an indication that persistent toxic chemicals are accumulating in the

environment.

What you can do

Consumers who want to eat fish without fear should voice their concerns

about mercury and other pollutants to elected officials on the state and

federal level. They should urge the reduction of emissions from power

plants, and the closure of incinerators that release dioxins, PCBs and

mercury.

It is possible to reverse this trend: Cleanups of contaminated waterway

sediments remove the pollution, so it is no longer available to the

bottom-feeders (like catfish, for example) which pass it along up the food

chain. States should also be encouraged to improve monitoring, and do a

better job informing the public about fish advisories.

Sportsmen should avoid fishing in waters that have advisories -- and be

careful about what they take home to eat. (In general, smaller and younger

fish, with plant-based diets, are less contaminated than big carnivores like

tuna and swordfish.)

And don't think you're safe because your fish was " farm-raised. " Airborne

mercury deposited in steams and rivers can also land on a fish farm pond.

And there are other concerns about aquaculture, such as use of antibiotics

and other feed additives at fish farms.

This cautionary information shouldn't steer you away from eating seafood

altogether. But women of childbearing age and young children should eat tuna

only in moderation, and make informed choices about other seafood.

Discretion is advised.

For more information, contact the Natural Resources Defense Council,

(212)727-4486.

(Becky Gillette is a freelance writer in Ocean Springs, Miss.)

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