In article ,
says...

On Thu, 20 Aug 2009 16:32:55 -0700, jps wrote:


Well maybe not...

Mercury Persists in Fish in Many Parts of US

The U.S. Geological Survey released a study that showed mercury
contamination in every fish sampled in 291 streams across the country.
The work was part of the National Water-Quality Assessment Program
(NAWQA) which provides an understanding of water-quality conditions
such as whether conditions are getting better or worse over time and
how natural features and human activities affect those conditions.
Regional and national assessments are possible because of a consistent
study design and uniform methods of data collection and analysis.

About a quarter of the fish were found to contain mercury at levels
exceeding the criterion for the protection of people who consume
average amounts of fish, established by the U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency. More than two-thirds of the fish exceeded the U.S.
EPA level of concern for fish-eating mammals.

"This study shows just how widespread mercury pollution has become in
our air, watersheds, and many of our fish in freshwater streams," said
Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar. "This science sends a clear
message that our country must continue to confront pollution, restore
our nation?s waterways, and protect the public from potential health
dangers."

Some of the highest levels of mercury in fish were found in the
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 the
Upper Midwest. Elevated levels are noted in areas of the Western
United States affected by mining.

Mercury, a neurotoxin, is one of the most serious contaminants
threatening our nation's waters. The main source of mercury to natural
waters is mercury that is emitted to the atmosphere and deposited onto
watersheds by precipitation. However, atmospheric mercury alone does
not explain contamination in fish in our nation's streams. Naturally
occurring watershed features, like wetlands and forests, can enhance
the conversion of mercury to the toxic form, methylmercury.
Methylmercury is readily taken up by aquatic organisms, resulting in
contamination in fish.

An unexpected finding was that the production of methylmercury in
channel sediment within the streams themselves appears to be
relatively unimportant for controlling methylmercury in stream water.

Stream water provides methylmercury to the base of the food chain, and
it is the amount of methylmercury in the water that is the primary
driver of how much mercury that accumulates in top predator fish. In
general, concentrations in fish increased with increasing
concentrations of methylmercury in water.

Once in the food web, methylmercury biomagnifies at a fairly
consistent rate from algae to invertebrates to fish?even among diverse
stream ecosystems. In the ecosystems studied, foodweb characteristics
have less impact on the amount of mercury in fish than do
methylmercury levels in water.

Once millions of the Al Gore bulbs start hitting the dumps, it'll only
get worse.

http://tinyurl.com/d8cfah


Yup, and guess where all of them are made.. China, another payout to the
Chinese Military...
--
Wafa free since 2009