JACKSON - A new report released by the National Wildlife Federation shows dangerous levels of mercury in rain, lakes and waterways in Mississippi, and charges the state has done little to prevent the spread of the neurotoxin into the food chain.
The average mercury concentrations found in all 12 states studied were higher than the Environmental Protection Agency's maximum safe level, according to the report released Thursday by the a nonprofit conservation group.
The EPA considers mercury levels below 3.5 nanograms per liter in lakes to be safe for fish consumption, said Felice Stadler, project director for the NWF's Clean the Rain Campaign.
In Mississippi, 97.3 percent of the rain samples exceeded that level, according to the report. The state has a fish consumption advisory for seven rivers, three lakes and along the Gulf Coast.
Most at risk are children and the unborn, who can suffer neuro-developmental delays from exposure to mercury, according to the report.
The report cited that one in 12 women of childbearing age nationally have mercury blood levels that could exceed EPA's safe level for protecting a fetus, according to the Centers for Disease Control.
"Mississippi didn't have the highest concentrations (of mercury) measured, but it did have consistently high levels," Stadler said. "Mississippi has done very little as far as addressing mercury from instate sources."
Phil Bass, director of Department of Environmental Quality's Office of Pollution Control, said mercury contamination is a local, regional and global problem, since much of the pollution enters the state from other regions.
In Mississippi, the highest mercury levels are found in "black water streams," which are mostly in the central and southern parts of the state.
The streams, which flow from heavily forested areas, are naturally tan colored by a breakdown of forest material, Bass said.
This breakdown creates a water environment ripe for mercury to be transmitted into the food chain, he said.
Stadler said Mississippi needs to reduce pollution from its main mercury producers - coal-fired power plants; and the state should pass legislation to phase out the use and disposal of consumer products, such as thermometers that contain mercury.
She also cited Mississippi's lack of a statewide rainfall monitoring system. Data for the six-year study was available only from 2000 to 2001 in Mississippi, and was collected from only one site. Most states have 2-4 sites to monitor mercury levels, she said.
Bass agreed that it would be helpful for the state to monitor the rainfall levels to get a better idea of where the mercury comes from.
"You can do things to keep from putting it into the environment. That's where we need to be attacking it," Bass said. "Once it's there, there's nothing you can do about it."
However, Bass said the test for mercury is "very expensive and very precise" and DEQ has struggled with budget cuts over the last several years to maintain those programs it already has in place.
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