Hg-WG: NWF report on mercury in rain released

[Joseph R Parrish Jr <JoeParrish@compuserve.com>]

And as sure as the night follows the day, if 
there is mercury, there are dioxins.  Both become 
airborne when coal is burned.  
Joe
NJ Environmental Watch

---------- Forwarded Message ----------

From:	"MICHAEL W. MURRAY", INTERNET:MURRAY@nwf.org
TO:	(unknown), INTERNET:mwg-mercury@igc.org
DATE:	09/14/99 2:00 PM

RE:	Hg-WG: NWF report on mercury in rain released

 
For Immediate Release:		
September 14, 1999				

Contacts:  Andy Buchsbaum or Julie Metty, 734/769-3351
	
Alarming New Data Reveals Dangerous Mercury Levels in Rain Falling Over Midwestern U.S. Cities

	CHICAGO, IL: A new National Wildlife Federation report reveals that the rain falling from the skies over cities such as Chicago, Detroit, Duluth and Gary contains levels of mercury that far exceed what the Environmental Protection Agency considers "safe" i!
n the Great Lakes and other waterways.  

	The serious human health implications of eating fish contaminated with mercury from rain prompted the Federation and 21 state and local partner organizations to launch the Clean the Rain Campaign today.  Designed to alert Americans to the danger mercury po!
ses, the Clean the Rain Campaign will work on the local, state and national levels to reduce these risks.

	"We usually think of rain as pure and clean, and that's the way it should be," said Mark Van Putten, president & CEO of the National Wildlife Federation.  "But this report reveals that rain falling over Midwestern cities such as Detroit, Chicago and Duluth!
 contains as much as 65 times the EPA's 'safe' level of mercury, which holds extremely serious health implications for both humans and wildlife."

	The report includes mercury contamination levels in rain and how they compare to EPA safe levels for human health in 20 Midwestern cities and towns, including:
* Chicago, Illinois		as high as 42 times safe levels
* Detroit, Michigan		as high as 65 times safe levels
* Duluth, Minnesota		a six-year average of six times safe levels 
* Illinois/Wisconsin border	as high as 56 times safe levels

	Mercury is a potent toxin.  Even when ingested in even tiny amounts it can have cause devastating effects on the human nervous system, especially for children and the unborn.  Associated illnesses include brain, lung and kidney damage and even death in hum!
ans.  In wildlife, mercury is a reproductive hazard with harmful effects on species such as frogs, rainbow trout, zebra fish, mallard and American black ducks, loons and terns.

	"With so much at stake for both people and wildlife, decisive action is needed right now to limit mercury emissions, because once mercury pollution goes up into the atmosphere, rain carries it right back down into the very water humans and wildlife depend !
on," said Peter Morman of the Environmental Law and Policy Center.  "Nationally, more than a third of mercury emissions come from coal-fired power plants, with the remainder coming from municipal and medical waste incinerators. In the Great Lakes region, co!
al combustion causes over half the mercury emissions."

	Coal contains trace amounts of mercury that are released into the air as it is burned for energy. When medical devices such as thermometers and blood pressure cuffs or household items like flourescent lights, lamps and thermostats are discarded and burned,!
 the residual mercury is emitted into the atmosphere.

<snip>

All Materials Are Available in an On-line Press Kit at NWF's Home Page: www.nwf.org


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----------------------------
Julie C. Metty,  Water Quality Project Organizer
National Wildlife Federation
506 East Liberty St., 2nd Floor
Ann Arbor, MI 48104
p: 734-769-3351 * f: 734-769-1449