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Mercury
Mercury, also known as quicksilver or by
its chemical symbol Hg, is a heavy, silver, metallic liquid at room
temperature. Mercury is a naturally occurring element that is present
throughout the environment. Human activity can release some of that
mercury into the air, water and soil. In the U.S., industrial pollution
is the biggest source of mercury emission to the air.
Mercury falls from the air and can get into
surface water, accumulating in streams and oceans. Bacteria in the
water cause chemical changes that transform mercury into methylmercury.
Fish absorb methylmercury from the water as they feed on aquatic
organisms.
Although mercury is a globally dispersed
contaminant, it is a more serious problem in certain locations.
Environments that are known to favor the production of methylmercury
include the coastal wetlands and blackwater swamps of the Lumber
& Waccamaw River Basins.
Health Effects of Mercury
Mercury is toxic to humans and
animals. Exposure to mercury may cause neurological, cardiovascular,
reproductive, and kidney damage. Mercury is especially harmful to
young children and pregnant women - it causes a variety of problems
for developing fetuses.
The two most common ways humans
are exposed to mercury is by breathing vapors from broken mercury
devices (such as thermometers) or by eating fish that are contaminated
with methylmercury.
- Methylmercury in the water and
sediment is taken up by tiny animals and plants known as plankton.
- Minnows and juvenile fish eat
large quantities of plankton over time.
- Larger predatory fish consume
many smaller fish, accumulating methylmercury in their tissues.
The older and larger the fish, the greater the potential for high
mercury levels in their bodies.
- Fish are caught and eaten by
humans and animals, causing methylmercury to accumulate in human
tissues.
AVOID Fish High in Mercury
Freshwater fish caught south & east of I-85
Blackfish (bowfin)
Largemouth Bass
Jack fish (chain pickerel)
Ocean fish
Shark
Tilefish
Swordfish
King mackerel
For more information
on fish advisories see:
Federal
Fish Consumption Advisory (EPA, 2004)
North Carolina
DENR Mercury Webpage
NC DHHS
- Division of Public Health Fish Consumption Advisories
Products Containing
Mercury
Mercury can be introduced into
the environment through the improper disposal of items that contain
mercury. Household items that contain
mercury include:
- thermometers
- thermostats
- barometers
- fluorescent lights
- button batteries
- neon lamps
- dental amalgam (some dental fillings)
- some light switches
- some shoes that 'light up'
- some nasal sprays
- some contact lens solutions
- pilot light sensors
- latex paints sold prior to 1991
- some pesticides made sold prior to 1991
Mercury
Links & Downloads
North
Carolina DENR Mercury Webpage
Federal
Fish Consumption Advisory (EPA, 2004)
NC DENR
Division of Air Quality - Mercury
AMSA
Report on Domestic Mercury Sources
US EPA Mercury Page
NC DHHS
- Division of Public Health Fish Consumption Advisories
US Geological Survey
Mercury Research
For more information on mercury
please visit the NC Division of Pollution Prevention and Environmental
Assistance mercury web site:
http://www.p2pays.org/mercury
Mercury Thermometer
Exchange Project
Sponsored by:
NC DENR Division of Water Quality
Lumber River COG
Exchange your mercury fever
thermometer for a mercury-free thermometer for no charge! FREE non-mercury
thermometers are available while supplies last, to households that
bring their mercury fever thermometers in to the Lumber River
Council of Governments at 30 CJ Walker Road in Pembroke.
(Please bring thermometers in a sealed plastic baggie)
Please call Jim Perry, Executive Director
at 910-618-5533 for more information.
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