New Studies Indicate Florida and the Gulf Coast have a Major
Mercury Problem, with high levels of mercury in: saltwater fish and shellfish,
freshwater fish, rain, all sewer plants and sewer sludge, crops where sludge is
spread, many adults and children, and widespread adverse health effects B.
Windham (Ed.)
1.
Studies document that Florida Saltwater fish,
shellfish, and freshwater fish have high levels of mercury in large parts of
the state.
2. There are fish consumption warnings/limits for king
mackerel and shark in all parts of the state and consumption warnings on jack
crevalle, spotted sea trout, Spanish mackerel,
gafftopsail
catfish, and lady fish in some areas. A study found that spotted sea trout in
Eastern Florida Bay commonly exceed the 1.5 ppm no consumption mercury level.
3. Five Gulf saltwater species have average mercury
levels on tested samples higher than the FDA action level for fish; 27 species
have average mercury test levels above the FDA warning level for mercury in
fish with some above the action level, and 16 species of fish as well as crabs,
oysters and shrimp have average test levels near the warning level or some
tested above the FDA action level. All of these have levels about the EPA
health criterion for methylmercury in fish and shellfish tissue.
4. Studies have found that people who eat Gulf Coast
fish at least once per week usually have dangerous levels of mercury. 29% of a
coastal sample ate fish at least once per week. Studies have found adverse
health effects for those who eat fish at below the FDA warning level.
5. Studies have found that fish and shellfish that
feed near offshore oil and gas platforms have higher levels of mercury than
other areas.
6. Studies have found that freshwater predator fish
such as bass, pickerel, and bowfin have high levels of mercury in most of the
state, with fish consumption warnings issued. 8 other species have average test
levels near the warning
level
or some tested above the
FDA action level.
7. Studies have found that predator species such as
wading birds, alligators, and Florida Panthers whose diet depends on fish have
high levels of mercury, and adverse health and reproductive effects. Livers of
cormorants in Florida Bay were found to have mercury levels as high as 250 ppm,
higher than any previously tested in Florida.
8. Studies by the Oak Ridge National
Laboratory(
ORNL) have found high levels of dangerous forms
of mercury in landfill gas being emitted from Florida landfills and from lands
where sewer sludge is spread, due to methylation of mercury to methyl and
dimethyl mercury by soil bacteria.
9. All sewer plants and sewer sludge in Florida have
dangerous levels of
mercury ,
which is a major source
of mercury in fish and source of mercury in crops and rain where sewer sludge
is spread. High levels of mercury are being found in rain throughout Florida
and the U.S., including methyl mercury from landfills and land spreading. The
most common source of these high mercury levels was found to be human excretion
into home and business sewers from those with amalgam dental fillings.
10. The largest source of mercury in most adults is
amalgam dental fillings, but food is a significant source in those who eat
fish or shellfish frequently.
11. The 3 main sources of mercury in Florida infants
are mercury thimerosal in vaccinations; mercury from mother's amalgam dental
fillings transferred across the placenta to the fetus or through mother's milk
to the infant; and mercury from fish. These are all significant sources in
Florida
.
12. The National Academy of Sciences found that 50%
of U.S. pregnancies result in birth defects or infants who have significant
developmental effects such as ADD, dyslexia, mood or anxiety disorders,
learning disabilities, eczema, asthma, or other chronic allergies or health
problems. Studies document that the majority of these are due to toxic
exposures, with the most common and significant being mercury.
13. The U.S. CDC and National Academy of Sciences
found that at least 10% of U.S.
womenhave
mercury
levels high enough to cause developmental neurological conditions
inprenatally
exposed infants; this may be higher in Florida
due to higher than
averagemercury
levels in fish and
high levels of fish consumption.
The tests used mainly
measured methyl
mercury, and
did not significantly
assess exposure levels from dental amalgam which is the largest source of
mercury in many adults or infant vaccinations which are the largest
sources in infants.
14. Mercury exposure is cumulative from the various
sources and bioaccumulates over time, with different sources more significant
in different individuals. Health effects are synergistic between the different
forms of mercury exposure and other toxic exposures, and depend also on
individual susceptibility which varies
widely due
to immune reactivity and systemic detoxification differences of individuals.
15. Levels of mercury in South Florida Everglades
fish and wildlife declined at least 80% after mercury emissions from South
Florida incinerators were required to control emissions.
Documentation:
High levels of mercury have been found in the rain throughout
Florida
and the
U.S.(
34,16,24), resulting in
accumulation of mercury in the
environment, water bodies, fish, wildlife, and people of Florida.
Mercury in Florida rainfall measured more than five times the federal health
standard for
lakes(
34). The largest sources of
emissions have been found to be coal power plants, incinerators,
kilns(
16). The level of mercury in rain ranged from 1.3 to
81.2 nanograms per liter depending on location and weather conditions,
with an average of 12.6. This resulted in
depostition
of and average annual
depostion
of about 17.6
micrograms of mercury per square meter, much higher than the U.S. EPA health
criteria to prevent harm to wildlife and
humans(
33).
The Electric Power Research Institute(2) and other studies have found that only
½ gram of mercury is required to contaminate all predator fish in a 10 acre
lake to the extent that fish consumption warnings are required, and enough
mercury is being released into the environment of Florida to raise levels in
all fish to such a level.
Mercury has been found to be the most
toxic substance commonly come in contact with, so toxic that the drinking water
standard for mercury is 2 parts per billion(ppb). But U.S. EPA have found that
because mercury bioaccumulates in the environment and fish, to protect from
accumulation in fish and wildlife and thus human health even lower standards
appear to be needed and lower standards have been proposed or adopted in many
areas(13e). The Great Lakes Initiative Wildlife Criteria calculated needed to
prevent accumulation in fish and wildlife is 1.3
nanagrams
per Liter(ng/L) while the GLI Hunan Health Criteria is 3.1 ng/
L(
parts per trillion). The EPA Fish Tissue Methyl
Mercury-based Criteria for lakes is 7.8 ng/L and for rivers is 18 ng/L. The
California Toxics Rule Saltwater Criteria is 25 ng/L(13e,33,34).
According to Government agencies due to its extreme toxicity and
common exposures, mercury causes adverse health effects in large numbers of
people in the
U.S.[
1,14-16,21,28]. Based on widespread
tests, the U.S. CDC estimates that approx. 16 % of women of childbearing age, 6
million women, have current mercury levels that would put fetuses at risk of
developmental neurological problems (14), without considering other common
sources of mercury in infants. The level affected is likely highly understated
due to the fact that
blood is known to not be a reliable indicator of
mercury body burden
and is not a good indicator of
mercury vapor exposure from dental amalgams or dental office occupational
exposure, which is
higher in many people than mercury from fish
.
Studies by EPA have found that the fetus on average has mercury
levels 70% higher than the mother’s blood, putting large numbers of infants
over the EPA health safety guideline of 5.8 parts per billion(14c). Studies by
the National Academy of Sciences have found that 50 % of U.S. children have
significant developmental conditions such as ADD, dyslexia, autism, learning
disabilities, mood or anxiety disorders, eczema, asthma, chronic allergies,
etc.(8), and studies have also documented that
the majority of these are caused by toxic
exposures
, with mercury exposures being one of the most common and
significant of these(8,14,15,20,21b,27,28).
The extreme toxicity of mercury can be seen from documented
effects on wildlife by very low levels of mercury exposure. The amount of
mercury in the marine environment is increasing 4.8% per year, doubling every
16
years(
6). A major factor in the extreme decline of
wading birds in Florida is mercury exposure from eating fish and other fish
predators are affected as
well(
7).
However
levels of mercury in wading birds and fish in the
Everglades area have declined some since controls were mandated on incinerators
a few years ago. Livers of cormorants in Florida Bay were found to have mercury
levels as high as 250 ppm, higher than any previously tested in
Florida(4b). Some Florida panthers that eat birds and animals that
eat fish containing very low levels of
mercury(
about 1
part per million) have died from chronic mercury poisoning(7). Since mercury is
an estrogenic chemical and reproductive toxin, many of the rest cannot
reproduce. The average male Florida panther has higher estrogen levels than
females, due to the estrogenic properties of
mercury(
7).
Similar is true of some other animals at the top of the food chain like polar
bears, beluga and orca whales, and alligators, which are affected by mercury
and other hormone disrupting chemicals.
Studies document that Florida Saltwater fish and shellfish have
high levels of mercury in large parts of the state(4,5,9,12,3b). There are fish
consumption warnings/limits for king mackerel and shark in all parts of the
state and consumption warnings on jack crevalle, spotted sea trout, Spanish mackerel
in several estuaries, and on
gafftopsail
catfish, and
lady fish in Tampa Bay (4,9). Some areas such as North Florida Bay and offshore
Tampa Bay have test levels higher than most other
areas(
4).
A study found that spotted sea trout in Eastern Florida Bay commonly exceed the
1.5 ppm no consumption mercury level(4b).
Based on the tests that have been
done, eight saltwater species(king mackerel, black grouper, cobia(ling),
barracuda,
bonita
(little tunny),
florida
smoothhound
, great
while
shark, tilefish) have average mercury levels on tested samples higher than the
FDA action level of 1 part per million(ppm) for fish(4,5,12); 24 species had
average mercury test levels above the FDA warning level(0.5 ppm) for mercury in
fish(black drum, blacktip shark, bluefish, bonefish,
bonnethead
shark, bull shark,
snook
, greater amberjack, jack
crevalle, ladyfish, lemon shark, red drum, rock bass,
spanish
mackeral
, spotted bass, blackfin tuna, gag
grouper, wahoo, bluefish,
gafftopsail
catfish,
crevalle jack, ladyfish, and stone crab) , and 15 species of fish(
blacknose
shark, blue crab, grouper
spainish
,
gulf flounder, permit, red grouper, sand trout, sheepshead, silver seatrout,
southern flounder, tarpon, tripletail, white bass, yellow bass, yellow jack),
as well as crabs, oysters and shrimp have average test levels near the warning
level or some that tested above the FDA action level(4,12). Approximately 94%
of all adult red drum from offshore waters adjacent to Tampa Bay contained
mercury levels greater than or equal to the 0.5-ppm threshold level, and 64%
contained levels greater than or equal to the DOH 1.5-ppm "no
consumption" level (11a). All of these have average levels of mercury
above the U.S. EPA health criterion for methylmercury of 0.3
ppm(
33). "Coastal
residents have higher levels of mercury than people who live inland, and
anglers and their families are also at higher risk of mercury
exposure,"(5bd).
F
ourteen species of Gulf Coast fish with mercury levels sampled at
a 2006 fishing rodeo had average mercury concentrations above 0.5 parts per
million (ppm), the level at which Florida and Louisiana issue consumption
advisories(9b). The species with
levels above 0.5 ppm
included
cobia
(ling),
Spanish
mackerel
, blackfin
tuna
, amberjack, black drum,
gag
grouper,
barracuda, wahoo, bluefish, bonito,
king mackerel,
gafftopsail
catfish
, crevalle jack, and
ladyfish. Four of these: king mackerel, barracuda, cobia, and bonito; had
average mercury levels
exceeding 1 ppm
, the United States Food and
Drug Administration (FDA) action level and the level at which Alabama and
Mississippi currently issue advisories for no consumption. Hardtail, grey
snapper, red snapper, red grouper, and speckled trout had average mercury
levels above 0.3 ppm, ranging up to about 0.8 ppm. However, many popular
species are relatively low in mercury. The lowest average mercury levels were
observed in vermilion snapper, tripletail (blackfish), flounder, and gray
triggerfish.
Statistical analysis of
mercury levels sampled in fish from the Indian River Lagoon and Florida Bay by
FDEP indicated that location was the most significant factor affecting mercury
levels. With the exception of jack crevalle and
gafftopsail
catfish, mercury in fish from the Indian River averaged less than the Florida
Limited Consumption Advisory. Tissue samples from several species of fish
caught in eastern Florida Bay contained higher levels of mercury than did
samples of those species collected in other areas. A significant portion of the
estuarine fish collected in eastern Florida Bay, including spotted seatrout,
exceed the 1.0 mg-Hg/Kg US Food and Drug Administration’s “no consumption”
health advisory criterion. Mercury levels were elevated in jack crevalle from
all areas. The south Florida species that had the highest mercury levels was
Jack Crevalle, with an average of 0.73 ppm in the Indian River Lagoon, 1.07 ppm
in E Florida Bay, and 0.40 in W Florida Bay. The other species testing above
0.5 ppm on average was
Gafftopsail
catfish with 0.59
ppm in IR and 0.57 in W Florida Bay, spotted sea trout with 0.44 ppm in IR
Lagoon, 0.92 ppm in E Florida Bay, and 0.25 ppm in W Florida Bay, Bluefish with
0.47 ppm in IR Lagoon and 0.68 ppm in W Florida Bay, and
snook
with 0.4 ppm in IR Lagoon, 0.52 ppm in E Florida Bay, and .42 ppm in W Florida
Bay. Species with lower mercury levels in order of mercury level were grey
snapper, redfish, sheepshead, and
flounder.(
3b)
Studies (5,37) have
also found that the level in most large predator species on the Gulf Coast is
higher than levels found to adversely affect health (25,26) with mercury
contamination being pervasive along the whole coastal area, and that people who
eat Gulf Coast fish at least once per week usually have dangerous levels of
mercury(5a). 29% of a coastal sample from Florida, Alabama, and Mississippi ate
fish at least once per week(5a). Over 30% of 100 environmental reporters
tested at a conference in Pittsburg had elevated levels of mercury(5c). The
study found that the older the reporters, or the more often they ate finned predator
fish, the more likely he or she harbored high mercury levels. 21% of women
of childbearing age in a large sample taken in a study sponsored by Greenpeace
had dangerous levels of
mercury(
over the EPA reference
level), and over 30% of those tested in Florida and 4 other states(5d).
Approximately one quarter of New York City women in this age group have a
blood
mercury
level at or above 5 g/L, the
New York State reportable level(5e).
Mercury contamination in fish is widespread.
Mercury was detected by a U.S.G.S. study in all fish sampled from 291 streams
across the U.S. (44). Concentrations in about a quarter of the fish sampled
exceeded the criterion for the protection of humans who consume average amounts
of fish, established by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
Some of
the highest levels of mercury in fish are from tea-colored or “blackwater”
streams in North and South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, and Louisiana—areas
associated with relatively undeveloped forested watersheds containing abundant
wetlands compared to the rest of the country. High levels of mercury in fish
also were found in relatively undeveloped watersheds in the Northeast and Upper
Midwest parts of the United States, in areas with abundant wetlands. Elevated
mercury levels in fish also are found in streams of the western U.S. that are
affected by mining of mercury or gold.
A 2009 study found that inorganic
mercury levels in people have been increasing rapidly in recent
years(
45). It used data from the U.S. Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention’s National Health Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES)
finding that while inorganic mercury was detected in the blood of 2 percent of
women aged 18 to 49 in the 1999-2000 NHANES survey, that level rose to 30
percent of women by 2005-2006.
For a study in Sweden, fresh water
fish consumers were categorized into 3 groups using the break points of at
least once per week, at least once per month, and less than once per
month(
42). Among the high consumers, median concentrations
of mercury were 8.6 microg/L in blood, 2.4 microg/g in hair, and 1.1 microg/g
creatinine in urine. The relationship between freshwater fish consumption and
mercury was significant in all biological media. The high-consumption group had
much higher mercury levels in blood (9-fold), hair (7-fold), and urine
(15-fold) than the low-consumption group.
Several studies including a large CDC study have found those with
higher levels of mercury have higher rates of neurological problems,
cardiovascular problems, infertility, and
cancer(
25,26,30,21). Men
in the highest third of hair mercury content (>2 microg/g) had an adjusted
1.60-fold (95% CI, 1.24 to 2.06) risk of acute coronary event, 1.68-fold (95%
CI, 1.15 to 2.44) risk of CVD, 1.56-fold (95% CI, 0.99 to 2.46) risk of CHD, and
1.38-fold (95% CI, 1.15 to 1.66) risk of any death compared with men in the
lower two thirds(25). High mercury content in hair also attenuated the
protective effects of high-serum docosahexaenoic acid plus
docosapentaenoic
acid concentration. Another study found infertile couples were
significantly more likely to have elevated mercury levels than the infertile
couples, which was the case for both men (35 percent versus 15 percent) and
women (23 percent versus 4 percent). Furthermore, patients who reported eating
high levels of seafood showed a clear trend towards elevated mercury levels(26
a,f
).
A California health clinic study reports that of a California
population that eats at least 2 servings of fish per week, 89% had levels of
mercury in the blood exceeding 5 micrograms per liter(ug/L), the level
considered the safety limit for mercury by U.S. EPA and the National Academy of
Sciences(26a). Over 50% had levels over 10 ug/L and 15% had levels over 20
ug/L. The group had chronic health effects including depression, loss of scalp
hair, metallic taste, headaches, arthritic pain in joints, irritability,
tremors, and numbness and tingling in hands and feet. She also described
cognitive problems such as pronounced memory loss, confusion and difficulties
in talking. In some cases, those problems were so severe
they interfered with the ability to earn a living or attend
school. In all cases, health effects improved after several months of avoiding
eating fish. Some women in the group were found to have transferred excessive
mercury to their infants solely through their breast milk. One breast-fed baby
had three times the EPA's safe level for mercury by the time he was 4 months
old; and another had 4 times the EPA safe level at 19 months. Some of the infants
with high mercury levels suffered severe neurological problems such as
autism, and
improved when treated for mercury toxicity.
Mercury accumulates in the major organs that receive large amounts of blood,
with cumulative damage and effects that often are not fully recognized until
later in
life(
43,21).
The Mobile Register
studies(
5) have also
found that fish and shellfish that feed near offshore oil and gas platforms
have significantly higher levels of mercury than other areas(5) due to mercury
used in drilling. Over 200 tons of mercury has been added to the Gulf through
drilling over the last 30 years. More fishing occurs near such platforms since
shellfish and fish tend to congregate in such areas. Other known major sources
of mercury throughout the coastal area are air emissions and sewer outfalls,
with some other large local industrial sites such as chlor-alkali
plants(
16). Accumulation of atmospheric oxidants and mercury
can cause high levels of mercury deposition in coastal areas when activated by
sunlight, which can result in very high levels of mercury in fish and wild
life(
32). Bacteria in sediments and fish intestines
methylate inorganic mercury to methyl
mercury(
31).
Studies have found that large pelagic Gulf fish species such as
marlins, swordfish, and shark have levels of mercury 20 to 30 times that of
most Gulf fish
species(
37). The U.S. FDA recommends
that pregnant women entirely avoid eating shark, swordfish, king mackerel and
tilefish(10a), because a significant portion of these types of fish have
mercury levels above the FDA action level of 1 ppm. However other
studies(25,26) including one by the National Academy of Sciences(14) have found
the old FDA action level of 1 ppm is obsolete and not adequate to protect the
public, as adverse effects have been found for those eating fish at least once
per week at average mercury levels below the FDA warning level of ½ ppm(25).
The Health Canada limit for mercury in marine and freshwater fish is 0.5
ppm(12b) and the U.S. EPA reference level for children and pregnant women is
0.3 ppm.
Based on this a coalition of organizations using the name
Environmental Working
Group(
EWG) did a large study to
more fully assess mercury exposure effects and safety limits(12). In addition
to the FDA limits, EWG advises pregnant women, nursing mothers and all women of
childbearing age, should not eat tuna steaks, sea bass, oysters from the Gulf
Coast, marlin, halibut, pike, walleye, white croaker, and largemouth
bass(
12). And that these women should eat no more than one
meal per month combined of canned tuna, mahi-mahi, blue mussel, Eastern oyster,
cod, pollock, salmon from the Great Lakes, blue crab from the Gulf of Mexico,
wild channel catfish and lake whitefish. The EWG analysis was based on 56,000
test results on mercury in fish from 7 different government agencies, and
toxicity studies by U.S. CDC and National Academy of Sciences. A large FDA
study found that the average level of mercury in white canned tuna is 0.358,
high enough to require stringent limits to prevent exceeding EPA’s reference
dose(
36), since the safe levels are commonly exceeded.
In a 2010 study, 55% of samples from the 3 top brands of tuna sold
in
the U.S. had mercury levels higher than the EPA standard of 0.5
parts per
million and 5% had levels over the FDA 1.0 ppm limit for
commercially sold
fish(36b).
However
EWG recognizes
that fish is an important health food with nutrients and essential fatty acids
hard to substitute from other sources. The following fish are safer choices for
avoiding mercury exposure: farmed trout or catfish, shrimp, fish sticks, wild
Pacific salmon, croaker, haddock, some varieties of flounder, and blue crab
from the mid-Atlantic. (12)
Studies have found that total mercury in maternal hair is
highly
correlated with methyl mercury in cord blood of the
fetus. Both hair T-Hg and cord blood
methylmercury(
MeHg
) increased with increasing consumption of seafood or
number of dental fillings(38,39,21), but hair mercury is primarily
methylmercury and not highly correlated with number of dental fillings.
Inorganic mercury(I-Hg) in cord blood increases significantly with increasing
number of maternal dental amalgam
fillings(
38,39,21).
Since dental amalgam is the largest source of mercury exposure in most people
who have several amalgams and other forms of mercury are methylated by mouth
bacteria and bacteria, yeasts, etc. in the intestines; dental amalgam has been
found to be a large source of methyl mercury in some people. Nutritional
factors have been found to partially offset the neurotoxic effects of
mercury(
21). Selenium is commonly found in many species of
fish and partially protects from mercury and methyl mercury neurotoxicity by
preventing damage from free radicals or by forming inactive selenium mercury
complexes(
40,41).
Studies have found that freshwater predator fish such as bass,
pickerel, and bowfin have high levels of mercury in most of Florida, with fish
consumption warnings
issued(
3,4,20). Eight other
species (alligator gar, black crappie, white crappie, blue catfish, flathead
catfish, brook trout, drum, striped bass) have average test levels near the FDA
warning level or some tested above the FDA action
level(
4).
Studies have found that predator species such as wading birds, alligators, and
Florida Panthers whose diet depends on fish have high levels of mercury, and
adverse health and reproductive
effects(
7). In
recent U.S. EPA tests of fish caught in Florida lakes, every fish sample tested
was contaminated with mercury, and sixty-three percent contained mercury levels
that exceed EPA’s “safe” limit for women of childbearing age(11b). Nationally,
55 percent of the fish samples exceeded EPA’s safe mercury limit for
women of childbearing age. Over 2 million acres of Florida’s
surface waters have fish with high levels of mercury, averaging above the
FDA/EPA warning level of 0.5 parts per
million(
20).
The major source of mercury into these water bodies is air deposition that is
brought down in rain. A Florida emissions inventory found that the major
sources of atmospheric mercury were municipal solid waste combustors (MSW),
electric utility industry, and medical waste
incinerators(
20),
but incinerator emissions have been reduced in recent years.
The most vulnerable groups to mercury exposure are women who are
pregnant or might become pregnant, nursing mothers, and young
children(8,10b,12,27,28). These groups should limit consumption of freshwater
fish to no more than one meal per week (6 ounces of cooked fish for adults and
2 ounces of cooked fish for young children).
High levels of mercury including the very toxic organic forms are
being measured in rainfall throughout the U.S.(24) High levels of the extremely
toxic di-methyl and methyl mercury forms of mercury are being found in landfill
gas coming from landfills and appear to be a source of some of this(22-24).
Bacteria in landfills and in soils where sewer sludge is spread have been found
to be
methylating
elemental and inorganic mercury to
the organic
forms(
22,23). Government studies have
found that all sewers in the U.S. and all sewer sludge have high levels of
mercury, with the most common significant source dental amalgam from dental
offices or from being excreted mercury into sewers from those with amalgam
dental
fillings(
13,23,28,21). Dental amalgam waste and
mercury from sewer sludge are major sources of mercury in some landfills and
sludge is also used in
landspreading
on farms and
other areas. Programs are already being implemented to reduce most other
sources of mercury into sewers and into landfills such as
flourescent
light tubes. High levels of mercury have been found to be taken up in crops on
land where sludge is
spread(
23), and high levels of
emissions of elemental and organic mercury forms methylated by soil bacteria.
Health Canada and Canadian sewer agencies have also documented similar
information on mercury emissions from amalgam waste and sewer sludge to
waterways, crops, and
air(
29), and have implemented
standards and restrictions to help alleviate this problem.
Recent government studies have documented that the environmental
effects of mercury excreted into sewers from those with amalgam dental fillings
are widespread and significant, and are affecting everyone in
Florida(
22-24,29). Dental amalgam mercury has been
documented to have a high bioavailability in
water(
31)
and dental offices are a major source of mercury into waterways.
Also
the average amalgam filling has more than ½ gram of
mercury, and has been documented to continuously leak mercury into the body of
those with amalgam fillings due to the low mercury vapor pressure and galvanic
current induced by mixed metals in the mouth. Because of the extreme toxicity
of mercury, only ½ gram is required to contaminate the ecosystem and fish of a
10 acre lake to the extent that a health warning would be issued by the
government to not eat the
fish[
2]. Over half the
rivers and lakes in Florida have such health
warnings[
3,4]
banning or limiting eating of fish, and most other states and 4 Canadian
provinces have similar health warnings(6,29). Wisconsin has fish consumption
warnings for over 250 lakes and
rivers(
6,13) and
Minnesota even more, as part of the total of over 95,000 such lakes with
warnings(6), 33% of all U.S. lake surface area and 15% of all U.S. river miles.
All Great Lakes as well as many coastal bays and estuaries and large numbers of
salt water
fish carry similar health warnings-70% of
all coastal miles and 100% for the Gulf of Mexico.
Government studies have determined that dental amalgam is by far
the largest source of mercury in sewers and sewer sludge, with dental amalgam
the largest source and waste excretion from those with amalgam the second
largest source(13e). Unlike many European countries and
Canada(
29)
which have more stringent regulation of mercury that require amalgam separators
in dental offices, the U.S. does not and most dental offices do not have them.
The discharge into sewers at a dental office per dentist without amalgam
separators is approximately 270 milligrams per day(18,13e(Table4)). For the
U.S. this would be approximately 5400 kg/
yr
(or
slightly over 6 tons/year of mercury into sewers and thus into streams and
lakes in most cases. In Canada the annual amount discharged is about 2 tons per
year, with portions ending up in waters/fish, some in landfills and cropland,
and in air emissions. The recently enacted regulations on dental office waste
are expected to reduce emissions by at least 63% by 2005, compared to year 2000
levels(
29).
A study in Michigan estimated that dental mercury is responsible
for approximately 14 % of mercury discharged to
streams(
18).
Other EPA and municipal
studies(
18,13) found that
dental office waste was responsible for similar levels of mercury in lakes,
bays, and streams in other areas throughout the U.S. Another Canadian study
found similar levels of mercury contribution from dental offices into lakes and
streams(
29). Surveys of dental office disposal
practices found the majority violated disposal regulations, and dangerous
levels of mercury are accumulating in pipes and septic tanks from many
offices(
18,29). As previously noted, dental amalgam mercury
has been documented to have a high bioavailability in
water(
31).
The total discharge into sewers from dental amalgam at individual
homes and businesses is second only to dental offices, since the average person
with several amalgam fillings excretes in body waste as much as 100 micrograms
per day of mercury and (17,19,21). This has also been confirmed by medical
labs(13c) such as Doctors Data Lab in Chicago and
Biospectron
in Sweden which do thousands of stool tests per year and is consistent with
studies measuring levels in residential sewers by municipalities(13b). The
reference average level of mercury in
feces(
dry
weight) for those tested at Doctors Data Lab with amalgam fillings is 0.26
milligrams/kilogram, compared to the reference average level for those without
amalgam fillings of .02 mg/kg(ppm). The AMSA study adopted a more conservative
estimate of 27 to 39 micrograms per day(13e). In the U.S. this would
amount to between 2500 to 7300 kilograms per year into sewers or from 3 to 8
tons per year.
Thus
the amount of mercury being
excreted from dental amalgam is more than enough to cause dangerous levels of
mercury in fish in most U.S. streams into which sewers empty.
Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) studies have also documented
high levels of mercury in sewers and sewer
sludge(
23).
According to an EPA study the majority of U.S. sewerage plants cannot meet the
new EPA guideline for mercury discharge into waterways that was designed to
prevent bioaccumulation in fish and wildlife due to household sewer mercury
levels(
13). Over 3 tons of mercury flows into the Chesapeake
Bay annually from sewer plants, with numerous resulting fish consumption
advisories for that area and similar for other
areas(
6).
The EPA discharge rule is being reevaluated due to a National Academy of
Sciences report of July 2000 that found that even small levels of mercury in
fish result in unacceptable risks of birth defects and developmental effects in
infants(
14).
However it should be remembered that the largest sources of
mercury air emissions are coal power plants and incinerators, with additional
significant contributions from power plants burning bunker oil, and these are
also significant sources of mercury in Florida's streams, lakes, and
bays(
16). Florida ranks 14th nationwide for the most
mercury emissions from power plants, releasing 2,411 pounds of mercury into the
air in 2002, according to the most recent EPA data(11b). The Crystal River
Energy Complex alone emitted 491 pounds of mercury into the air in
2002. Since only ½ gram of mercury is required to contaminate all
fish in a 10 acre lake to dangerous levels requiring health
warnings(
2),
all of these sources need to be reduced to result in fish safe to eat.
Thousands of peer-reviewed studies have documented that amalgam
dental fillings, in addition to
being
a major source
of mercury in the environment and fish, are also the number one source of
mercury in most people with several fillings, with exposure levels above
Government health guidelines (21). The Gov't health
guideline(
MRLs)
for mercury(15) of 0.2 micrograms per kilogram body weight per day for organic
mercury result in limits of approx. 6 micrograms per day for a 44 pound child,
16 ug/d for a 115 pound adult, and 24 ug/day for a large adult. The
corresponding MRL for mercury
vapor(
the type emitted
by amalgam) is 0.2 micrograms per cubic meter of air breathed which results in
a limit of about 6 ug/d for a large adult and less for a child. These levels
are commonly exceeded in people with several amalgam
fillings(
21)
and in those who regularly eat seafood with mercury levels commonly found in
Florida fish (4, 5,12,etc. ). Thousands of peer-reviewed studies also document
that mercury causes over 30 chronic neurological or immune related health
conditions(
21,27,28), from which thousands are documented to
have recovered or significantly improved after proper treatment of mercury
toxicity(21b, Section VI, 20). Those interested in additional information on
testing for or treatments for mercury toxicity or in clinics with experience
treating mercury toxicity problems can contact the Florida Chapter of the
national patients support organization(DAMS) at:
www.myflcv.com/indexd.html
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