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Samples show 'startling' levels of
mercury
by Bob Gross, Oakland Press, August 1, 2002
A sample of rain water collected in Southfield contains up to
114 times more mercury than thought safe for people and animals.
"These results are startling," said Michael Murray, a staff
scientist for the National Wildlife Federation Great Lakes Natural
Resource Center in Ann Arbor. "The mercury concentration in the
June 26 sample is one of the highest that has been measured in the
Great Lakes region."
The wildlife
federation, Michigan United Conservation Clubs and the Michigan
Environmental Council are calling for immediate action to
eliminate mercury pollution in Michigan by 2020 and to reduce it
90 percent by 2010.
The two biggest sources
of mercury pollution, said Murray, are coal-fired power plants and
municipal and medical waste incinerators. There are no coal-fired
power plants in Oakland County, and the nearest medical and
municipal incinerators are in Wayne County.
Mercury pollution can
be distributed locally and regionally, however, said Murray.
"Mercury is in coal
naturally and when it's burned, it goes up the stack," he said.
The wildlife federation
monitored mercury concentrations in rain samples collected at
Lawrence Technological University on Ten Mile near Northwestern
Highway on June 17, 18 and 26. The United Sates Environmental
Protection Agency's safe level for mercury in surface water is 1.8
parts per trillion - the lowest amount found was still eight times
that level, said Murray.
Mercury can cause harm
to the brains and nervous systems of children developing in the
womb. About 390,000 babies are born annually in the United States
with mercury levels in their bloodstreams high enough to cause
neurological problems, according to the wildlife federation.
Murray said that,
according to the latest inventory by the state Department of
Environmental Quality, coal-fired power plants account for about
half the mercury pollution in Michigan.
"Coal-fired power
plants are the No. 1 source of mercury pollution in Michigan,"
said Heather Northway, associate director of the East Michigan
Environmental Action Council.
"To protect our lakes
and streams, the state needs to make sure that modern pollution
control equipment is used and make greater efforts to support
clean energy sources."
But getting rid of the
mercury isn't a simple matter of installing more scrubbers inside
smokestacks.
"Most mercury is not
trapped effectively by other pollution control devices already in
place," said Murray.
The wildlife federation
and its partners want power plants to install new technologies
that could potentially remove up to 90 percent of the mercury from
smokestack emissions.
But they consider that
a short-term fix. They also advocate that more generation go to
power plants fired by cleaner fuels such as natural gas.
Longer term, the groups
are pushing for more electrical generation using alternative
sources of energy.
The groups emphasize
that it is not dangerous to drink rainwater or to get it on your
skin. The element becomes more concentrated, however, as it moves
up the food chain and that's where the potential problems are.
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