The Merits of Pattern Recognition and the Mercury Issue

Red Flag #1

It was reminiscent of a classic "Wanted: Dead or Alive" poster except instead of two human faces staring back; there were two ducks placidly floating on water. "WARNING: Avoid Shooting or Eating Northern Shoveler and Common Goldeneye from Great Salt Lake. " Coordinated efforts between the Utah Department of Health (DOH), the Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) and the Division of Wildlife Resources (DWR) were responsible for the publication of this Consumption Advisory. Utah is the only state to have issued such an advisory.

Extremely high mercury levels had been detected in these two species of ducks commonly found on Great Salt Lake where one third of the Pacific Flyway frequents. One shoveler collected in 2005 had a mercury concentration of 11.7 mg/kg. This is 39 times the EPA "level of concern" for human consumption (0.3mg/kg).

At the time of this release, aerial surveys indicated that there were more then 450,000 ducks on the Great Salt Lake wetlands. What is interesting about these two species is that they each have different foraging patterns; shovelers are dabblers and goldeneyes are divers. This suggests that mercury could exist in multiple trophic levels in the ecosystem .

Luckily, the warning was issued one day before the start of the Utah duck hunting season.

Red Flag #2

Reconnaissance research done in 2003 by US Geological Survey (USGS) and the US Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) of sediment and water samples from the deepest part of Great Salt Lake and brine shrimp and the livers of eared grebes, revealed extremely high levels of methyl mercury in these sources. At that time, they were the highest levels of methyl mercury ever detected in the U.S. In 2005, Kennecott tested for mercury in shallower waters near their GSL outflows. The results exceeded the USGS-reported levels..

Red Flag #3

Utah issued its third fish advisory in November 2005 after 8 of 10 channel catfish from the Green River in Desolation Canyon exceeded levels of mercury considered safe for unlimited consumption by EPA. In August 2005, the state issued its first public health advisory for fish after finding elevated levels of mercury in largemouth bass from Gunlock Reservoir in Washington County and brown trout in Mill Creek near Moab. Utah became the 46th state to issue a fish advisory.

Unfortunately, there are numerous examples of elevated levels of mercury just about everywhere around the planet; in the air, the water, sediments, biota, tissue and human hair.

So how do we begin to chip away at what seems to be such an insurmountable task?

Authorities have suggested a three pronged approach (ah, western culture) to addressing the problem. This approach consists of characterizing the risk; what things are out there that could endanger human health? Identify the sources and pathways: what are the activities causing the emissions and vehicles for transmission? And identify the potential solutions; what recommended outcomes and responsible actions must be taken using the tools of good science?

Characterizing the human health risks means more sampling of fish, ducks, water and sediments; more analysis and more funding to support the scope of work involved. The State appears to be sincerely committed to taking such steps but there are funding questions with may preclude some of the necessary breadth of this effort. The State's hefty budget surplus would have been a wonderful source of additional funding toward this much needed program.

However, thanks to DEQ and DWQ, the State Department of Health laboratory is now equipped with the necessary instrumentation to detect mercury in tissue samples. The mercury analyzer will save both time and money by not having to send samples out of state. The lab is currently working on the tissue analysis of waterfowl collected in December 2005; part of a succession of waterfowl sampling from Great Salt Lake that the DWR has under taken.

DWR sees this waterfowl sampling as a huge and challenging opportunity which will require continued discovery to help the division determine what the next steps should be. Four general areas of the Lake will be sampled; Farmington Bay, the Greater Ogden Bay, Bear River Bay and the open waters of the Lake. The waterfowl sampling plan reflects an attempt to capture the dynamics of the presence of waterfowl that use Great Salt Lake from late summer through the spring. Additional species of duck such as the green teal will also be included. The results should be available by the end of this spring.

Since 2000, nearly 300 samples of fish were taken from locations around Utah. Additional fish samples taken from 22 sites in 2004 and 66 sites in 2005 will be analyzed at the State Lab. Four new sites; Calf Creek in Capital Reef, the East Fork of the White Rocks River, Deer Creek and Pleasant Creek will be added for sampling. It was suggested during one of the State Mercury Work Group meetings that striped bass from Lake Powell should be included in future sampling protocols.

Additionally, both USGS and USFWS are seeking funding for proposals that will provide even more clarity to the sources of mercury emissions in the environment. Working in tandem, these researchers are looking more intensively at Great Salt Lake and the eared grebes that double their body weight on brine shrimp during their winter migration. The team is also exploring partnering efforts with Nevada to investigate long-term mercury deposition in both states and the implications to aquatic biota and potential human health effects.

Identifying the sources and pathways of mercury contamination is critical to determine what activities are causing the problem. Most of us recognize that potential atmospheric sources of mercury emissions include coal fired power plants, legacy mining operations, ore roasting in gold mining, waste incineration, volcanic activity and even evaporation from the oceans. So at the very least, as we begin to grapple with our own back yard concerns, we should be talking with our neighbors in Idaho, Nevada, California, Oregon, Montana and Washington.

The Utah Division of Air Quality has started doing that. Currently, Utah is working with Idaho and Nevada (Region 8, 9 & 10) to gain a better understanding of mining activities and impacts from their emissions. Nevada is involved in a rule making process to regulate mercury emissions from gold ore roasters. Since gold mining operations in northeastern Nevada have been identified as one of the possible sources of mercury contamination in Great Salt Lake, DAQ is very interested in tracking this process.

As always, the key to the outcome will be the amount of regulatory teeth involved or whether it will only be a voluntary program. However, much to its credit, Nevada has managed to halve its mercury emissions through voluntary measures and that's encouraging.

Coal fired power plants seem to be in a league of their own when it comes to emitting mercury because although there are standards to regulate emissions from most heavy industrial sources, there are none for coal fired power plants. They too are a major contributor.

In the late 1990's, Congress ordered the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to create a rule to cap mercury emissions from this source. In early 2000, EPA was proposing to release a rule for such a cap and which would reduce mercury emissions upwards of 90% by 2008. However, the Bush Administration interfered with this legislation. When the revised rule was released in March 2005, it pushed the restriction cap to 2018. This means that restrictions on mercury emissions from coal fired power plants is voluntary until then.

"Trade and cap" dynamics; trading pollution credits to forestall technological upgrades in coal fired power plants is something we should all be concerned about. As we look forward to new plants coming on line in Utah and Nevada, this practice has the potential to create mercury "hot spots" throughout the region.

DAQ is mindful of this and is working tenaciously to gather more information to help establish a mass balance approach to determine how much mercury occurs and how to address impacts in the region from these sources. They don't want to wait for sources to squeeze out as much mercury as possible before taking action.

So, in a nutshell, we are on the verge of some very promising commitments to gather good science and get good results. But that's just one part of the solution. The other part of the solution is a commitment from us of time, energy and support to see this huge responsibility through. Only through a unified effort can we all celebrate a sense of accomplishment and a job well done.

In saline,

Lynn de Freitas

What You Can Do

We can all do our part to reduce mercury contamination in our communities. It can be as simple as participating in the thermometer exchange program with the Salt Lake Valley Health Department or urging your state senator to support HB 138, Mercury Switch Removal.

Contact Sonja F. Wallace, Pollution Prevention Coordinator, Utah Department of Environmental Quality 801-536-4477 This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it to find out ways in which we can contribute to the cause.

Read. Read. Read.

Visit the DEQ website www.deq.utah.gov/issues/Mercury for information about past and upcoming meetings of the State Mercury Work Group. Come to the next meeting and begin tracking what is and isn't happening with this effort.

For more information about the health effects of mercury, visit www.atsdr.cdc.gov/tfacts46.html

The Natural Resources Defense Council also has a "mercury calculator" for fish eaters on its web page at www.nrdc.org

And speak up. Write letters to your local newspaper about concerns you have on the mercury issue.