Mercury Vapor Detection Kit? 102 Most Correct Answers

Here’s an overview of this complex substance – along with information on why mercury pollution needs to be regulated.

Mercury at a glance

Mercury is one of the most toxic poisons known to science. Ingesting even small amounts of it can cause a long list of serious health hazards.

The main way we are exposed to mercury is through eating fish. The mercury we spew into the air falls back to the ground – into our rivers and lakes. It gets into our fish – and then we eat the fish. That’s why doctors warn pregnant women against eating too much tuna.

. The mercury we spew into the air falls back to the ground – into our rivers and lakes. It gets into our fish – and then we eat the fish. That’s why doctors warn pregnant women against eating too much tuna. Most of the mercury in our air comes from coal-fired power plants.

Once in the air, mercury can travel long distances. Through rain and wind, it eventually falls into earth and water. Once metallic mercury enters the aquatic environment, it is converted by microorganisms into methylmercury, which can move through the food chain and reach high concentrations in large fish.

In adults, high exposure to mercury can damage the brain, heart, kidneys, lungs and immune system.

But it’s a much greater danger to babies and children. Mercury exposure can cause brain damage in infants. Mercury can affect children’s ability to walk, speak, read and learn.

Mercury can affect children’s ability to walk, speak, read and learn. In 2005, it was estimated that more than 400,000 American babies were born to dangerous levels of mercury in the womb.

American babies are born every year after being exposed to dangerous levels of mercury in the womb. In 2011, all 48 continental United States had recommendations on mercury fish consumption in effect. This includes the entire Great Lakes region.

The Mercury and Air Toxic Standards were issued on December 16, 2011 to limit the amount of pollution allowed from coal-fired power plants.

were enacted on December 16, 2011 to limit the amount of pollution from coal-fired power plants. The Mercury and Air Toxics Standards set the first-ever national limits for hazardous air pollutants from power plants. These pollutants include mercury, lead, arsenic, dioxin, and acid gases.

set national limit values ​​for hazardous air pollutants from power plants for the first time. These pollutants include . Mercury and air toxicity standards required power plants to filter the mercury before it was released into the air.

According to the EPA, the standards save up to 11,000 lives and prevent up to 120,000 asthma attacks annually.

And despite massive health and economic benefits, mercury and air toxin standards are under attack — most recently by Trump’s EPA.

. Clean air is crucial to human health. Mercury is toxic. We have the ability to get it out of our air. There’s no excuse for not doing it. We must support standards for mercury and air toxins.

I don’t remember anything about chemistry in high school. What is mercury? And why should I care?

A: Mercury is a natural chemical element that is highly toxic to both humans and wildlife. Do you remember high school science class? Mercury symbol is Hg

I keep hearing that mercury is “natural” so how can it be bad for us?

A: Unlike some heavy elements like zinc and copper, mercury has no biological function. Every single atom of mercury is poisonous. All living cells must employ complex mechanisms to protect themselves from this, and when the protective mechanisms fail, the consequences can be dramatic.

The main target organ of mercury is the brain and affects the function and development of the central nervous system. It also affects the heart, kidneys, lungs, muscles, reproductive and digestive organs, as well as our genetic and immune systems.

Nature is full of toxic chemical elements: aluminum, arsenic, barium, cadmium, and lead—just for starters.

Many natural things are toxic – if the dose is high enough. But with mercury, the toxic dose is tiny.

I remember breaking open thermometers and playing with this weird mercury curling up into balls. Is this what all mercury looks like?

A: Mercury exists in several forms that can interconvert: elemental or metallic mercury, inorganic mercury compounds, and organic mercury compounds.

Elemental mercury ↔ Oxidized mercury (inorganic) ↔ Methyl mercury (organic)

Elemental, or metallic, mercury is a lustrous, silvery-white metal; it is mostly liquid at room temperature. It is often referred to as “mercury”. It is commonly used in thermometers, fluorescent lamps, and some electrical switches. When dropped, elemental mercury breaks up into smaller droplets. They can go through small cracks or become very attached to certain materials.

At room temperature, exposed elemental mercury can vaporize into an invisible, odorless toxic vapor.

This vapor has a very long lifetime (up to a year) in the air.

Once released into the wider atmosphere, elemental mercury can travel thousands of kilometers and becomes part of a global pool of atmospheric mercury.

Oxidized inorganic mercury or ionic mercury compounds are in the form of mercury salts and are generally white powder or crystals, except for mercury sulfide (cinnabar), which is red.

Inorganic mercury compounds are contained in products such as pigments, fungicides, antiseptics or disinfectants.

Some skin lightening and freckle creams, as well as some traditional medicines, may contain mercury compounds.

Some forms of oxidized mercury are gaseous, but unlike elemental mercury vapor, these forms cannot spread globally – they are very soluble or “reactive” and deposit locally.

Organic mercury compounds such as methylmercury are formed when inorganic mercury combines with carbon. This is most common in water when inorganic mercury is attacked by microscopic organisms.

Methylmercury “bioaccumulates” and “biomagnifies” in many edible freshwater and saltwater fish and marine mammals to levels millions of times higher than levels in the surrounding water. This is the primary route of human exposure.

How does mercury enter the human body and how does it leave it?

A: The Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry explains it this way:

For example, if you swallow small amounts of elemental mercury from a broken oral thermometer, virtually none (less than 0.01%) of the mercury will pass through your stomach or intestines into your body unless you are ill. Even when a large amount of elemental mercury (half a tablespoon, about 204 grams) was swallowed by a person, very little got into the body. However, when you inhale mercury vapor, most (about 80%) of the mercury travels straight from your lungs into your bloodstream and then quickly to other parts of your body, including the brain and kidneys. Once in your body, metallic mercury can remain for weeks or months. When metallic mercury enters the brain, it is easily converted into an inorganic form and “trapped” in the brain for a long time. Metallic mercury in a pregnant woman’s blood can get into her developing child. Most metallic mercury will accumulate in your kidneys, but some metallic mercury can also accumulate in the brain. Most of the metallic mercury absorbed by the body is eventually excreted in the urine and feces, while smaller amounts leave the body in the exhaled air.

Methylmercury is the form of mercury most readily absorbed from the gastrointestinal tract (approximately 95% absorbed). After eating fish or other foods contaminated with methylmercury, the methylmercury easily enters your bloodstream and quickly travels to other parts of your body. Only small amounts of methylmercury enter the bloodstream directly through the skin, but other forms of organic mercury (particularly dimethylmercury) can quickly enter the body through the skin. Organic mercury compounds can evaporate slowly at room temperature and can easily enter your body if you inhale the vapors. Once in the bloodstream, organic mercury moves easily into most tissues and penetrates the brain easily.

Exactly how toxic is mercury?

A: Mercury is extremely strong; The continuous deposition of mercury in trace amounts, adding up to just a tablespoon at the end of a year, is enough to render fish in a 20-acre lake unfit for human consumption. This is because methylmercury accumulates and concentrates in fish over the years and multiplies through the food chains.

If mercury occurs naturally, why is it considered a pollutant? Where does mercury air pollution come from?

A: Mercury is actually a naturally occurring element. It is highly concentrated in some parts of the earth’s crust in forms such as solid cinnabar.

When mercury-containing rock, including coal, is burned — usually for industrial uses like power generation — the heat releases gaseous forms of mercury into the air. These gaseous forms of mercury float through the air and can fall on soil and water bodies far from their original source. These airborne inorganic forms are eventually converted to methylmercury.

As an element, mercury can never be broken down or broken down into harmless substances.

The problem is that as humans burn mercury-bearing rock, increasing amounts of mercury are being converted from latent, solid, and insoluble (hence non-toxic) forms such as charcoal and cinnabar into persistent and globally recyclable, soluble, and toxic forms.

Thus, mercury contaminates our air, water, soil and life – plants, animals and people.

What are the top sources of mercury air pollution in the US?

A: The US emits approximately 155 tons (megagrams) of mercury in total each year.

Coal-fired power plants are the largest industrial emitter of mercury in the US, emitting nearly three quarters of all US air mercury emissions.

In 2009, emissions from the top 25 mercury-emitting facilities accounted for almost a third of all mercury air emissions from the US electrical sector, while generating only 8 percent of total US electricity needs.

Unfortunately, 20 of the 25 coal-fired power plants with the highest mercury emissions are within 50 to 100 miles of major population centers.

Industrial boilers and cement plants are the second and third largest sources of mercury and other toxic emissions, respectively.

Which states have the worst mercury emissions?

The top ten states in 2011 with the highest mercury emissions by weight (lbs) were:

1.Texas

2. Pennsylvania

3.Ohio

4. West Virginia

5.Indiana

6. Kentucky

7. Illinois

8. North Carolina

9. Alabama

10.Michigan

If I don’t live near a coal-fired power plant, do mercury emissions matter to me?

While your proximity to a coal-fired power plant plays an important role, the emissions reach much further than you might think. The Electric Power Research Institute calculates that up to 10% of the mercury emitted by coal-fired power plants is deposited within 62 miles of a power plant; 50% within 621 miles and the rest is transported regionally and globally.

Is the mercury from coal-fired power plants toxic in gaseous form?

Yes. Although intestinal absorption of elemental mercury is low, about 80 percent of inhaled mercury vapor is absorbed by lung tissue. This vapor also readily crosses the blood-brain barrier and is a well-documented neurotoxin. Elemental mercury can be converted into the inorganic forms in body tissues, which can then have a toxic effect on the liver and kidneys.

What have I heard about mercury and fog?

Researchers have found that coastal fog can contain toxic mercury that can harm ecosystems and human health.

I heard that mercury from China was found in US air. Is that true?

Yes. In a 2004 study, atmospheric scientist Dan Jaffe found that Asian mercury can reach western North America in as little as four days. International organizations are working to reduce mercury emissions from other parts of the world. In the meantime, we must take action to reduce our national emissions as locally emitted gaseous mercury is more “reactive” and toxic.

What kind of mercury pollution comes from coal-fired power plants?

Mercury occurs naturally in coal and is released when coal is burned. While natural sources can also add elemental mercury to our global atmosphere, the industrially emitted mercury has adverse human health effects:

Not all mercury released from coal-fired power plants is in the form of elemental mercury. Up to 95% (with a national average of 45%) of total power plant or incinerator emissions can be “reactive” gaseous mercury, which is a form of oxidized inorganic mercury. This oxidized form of mercury is about 1000 times more soluble in (rain)water and dry deposits about 50 times faster than elemental mercury1.

As a result, it is deposited locally (less than 50 km to 1000 km from the point of emission, depending on the direction and speed of wind and rain).

Freshly deposited mercury is also more available for transport into microscopic organisms that produce methylmercury – it is more toxic than mercury already in soil/water.

The concentration of mercury in coal-fired power plant stacks is 1,000 times or more higher than the urban background concentration.

Local deposition in urban areas can be tens to hundreds of times higher compared to a natural background global pool of elemental mercury.

Even if some of the mercury emitted by coal-fired power plants is not deposited locally and not immediately converted to methylmercury, it is added to the global atmospheric mercury stock.

Adding mercury to the global pool means we have more mercury in the forms that are “fresh” and “new” and more easily absorbed by trees, animals and humans. It is no longer safely stored in the “rock bank” deposits of the earth; it is spreading rapidly worldwide.

What do scientists mean when they talk about a global pool of mercury?

After emission to air in gaseous form, a fraction of this gaseous mercury settles in local areas within 50 to 1000 km of the original source. The remaining mercury is almost entirely elemental mercury, which has a very long lifetime in air, travels great distances, and mixes with elemental mercury emitted from other regions of the world.

This “mixture” of elemental mercury is known as the global mercury pool. It stays in the air until it is converted (oxidized) into soluble inorganic mercury and deposited in soil and water. Oxidizing gases and free radicals such as bromine, ozone, nitrogen gases affect the conversion of gaseous global pools into separable oxidized mercury.

Even without industrial activity, there was a global background concentration of mercury in the air due to volcanic activity. Industrially emitted mercury has increased the global background levels of mercury in the air threefold after being distributed worldwide. Urban areas have more background mercury than rural areas.

Do volcanoes emit mercury on land and in the deep sea?

Yes. Volcanoes emit elemental mercury. Mercury is also released from natural weathering of mercury-bearing rocks. However, it is important to remember:

Most people live much farther from a volcano than they do from their local industrial point sources such as coal-fired power plants.

The total amount of mercury emitted worldwide through volcanoes and natural weathering is less than a tenth of our industrial sources.

Volcanoes don’t emit the form of “reactive” inorganic mercury, which dissolves in rain and easily deposits on soil and water (link above). Oxidized “reactive” forms of mercury emitted from coal-fired power plants and incinerators and other high-temperature operations that emit oxidizing co-pollutants such as NOX deposit on local water bodies and are converted to methylmercury much more readily than mercury emitted from volcanoes.

Much of the mercury in the atmosphere today is the result of long-term anthropogenic (man-made) emissions. The natural component of the total atmospheric load is difficult to estimate, although available data suggest that anthropogenic activities increase atmospheric mercury concentrations by about a factor of 3 even in locations far from industrial areas, and deposition near industrial areas by a factor of one have up to 10.

High mercury concentrations in some environments result from the remobilization of historical anthropogenic mercury releases previously deposited in soils, sediments, water bodies, landfills, and landfills/dumps. About 50% of the mercury that “naturally” evaporates from water and soil surfaces today was deposited by human activities.

How does mercury get into our waters?

Airborne mercury eventually deposits in the aquatic environment where it is converted to methylmercury, and then accumulates in biological tissues and accumulates as it moves up the food chain.

Due to biomagnification, mercury concentrations in the larger fish increase as larger fish eat smaller ones. Consequently, larger predatory fish have higher concentrations of mercury.

In 2011, 1.3 million miles of American rivers and 17 million acres of American lakes were under mercury-related fish contamination warnings — including the entire Great Lakes region.

What is the connection between coal and tuna? How does mercury from smokestacks get into our seafood?

After being emitted into the air in gaseous form, mercury is deposited on the earth and accumulates in our water and soil.

Once in our water and soil, microbes, plants and animals can “eat” and “drink” this mercury.

After “drinking” inorganic mercury, microscopic organisms convert it to methylmercury, which is then ingested by organisms lower down the food chain (i.e. algae – the microscopic plants).

These are then consumed and bioaccumulated and biomagnified by the living forms of the food chain: fish, shellfish and birds and mammals.

We are exposed to methylmercury when we eat contaminated foods, which include all seafood, fish-eating mammals, poultry, and sometimes grains and vegetables.

Mercury contamination is the main reason people are being warned to limit consumption of large predatory fish.

What do “biomagnification” and “bioaccumulation” mean?

The short answer is: double trouble. Here’s why:

Living organisms cannot readily release methylmercury once it has entered their cells – due to its ability to break down into “fats”.

Once in our bodies, methylmercury stays and accumulates in living tissues for a very long time. This is called bioaccumulation.

Methylmercury also becomes more concentrated as it accumulates further up the food chain, ie. H. its concentration increases as we move from smaller and simpler life forms like algae to larger organisms like fish.

For fish raised in waters with 1 ppt methylmercury (15,000,000,000 mercury atoms per teaspoon of water), seafood in the food chain can contain 150,000,000,000,000,000 or more methyl molecules in one teaspoon of fishmeal. This is biomagnification.

In the human body, methylmercury decomposes into inorganic oxidized mercury very slowly, and it is the inorganic mercury that can be excreted over time.

When I was pregnant, my doctor advised me to stop eating albacore tuna because of mercury poisoning. What is that?

Every single atom of mercury is poisonous. Due to natural defense mechanisms – which change from person to person – our bodies can tolerate low levels of mercury exposure.

Mercury poisoning occurs when levels of total mercury (especially methylmercury) in your body are high. The EPA-established safe level of mercury for a 45-pound child is about 2 micrograms per day. Mercury can get into your body in a number of ways:

Breathing air containing mercury vapor Exposure to mercury from dental fillings (amalgams) Eating mercury-contaminated food – such as seafood Direct exposure to mercury.

Whether exposure to mercury is harmful to health depends on the following factors:

The chemical form of mercury;

the dose;

The age of the exposed person (the fetus is most vulnerable);

the exposure time;

Route of exposure – inhalation, ingestion, skin contact, etc.; and

The exposed person’s health and diet.

Why are women trying to conceive advised to avoid eating albacore tuna and other mercury-contaminated seafood?

The brains of unborn babies and young children are most vulnerable to mercury; This is where they have the highest concentration of adipose tissue, and their brain architecture is still developing. The level of methylmercury in the blood of an unborn child can be higher (about 1.7 times) than the level in its mother’s blood.

Some doctors advise women planning to conceive to refrain from eating mercury-contaminated foods six months before conception because it takes a long time for mercury to leave our bodies.

In the human body, methylmercury decomposes into inorganic oxidized mercury very slowly, and it is the inorganic mercury that can be excreted over time.

Mercury can cross the placenta via the umbilical cord. Mercury also penetrates the fetal blood-brain barrier, which was once considered an impenetrable protection.

Should I give up fish?

When fish contaminated with mercury is consumed by an expectant mother, the mercury passes through the placenta to the developing fetus. Infants with prenatal mercury exposure may appear normal for the first few months of life, but may later exhibit subtle health effects, such as: , and memory.

While all fish accumulate some mercury, they provide omega-3 fatty acids along with other essential nutrients. People should choose to eat smaller fish, which are further down the food chain — they have low concentrations of toxic compounds and high concentrations of nutrients.

Here is more information on which fish are safer to eat.

Can I be exposed to mercury even if I don’t eat too much fish?

While exposure to methylmercury from consumption of fish is of most concern for the general population, increased exposure to elemental and inorganic mercury is also a concern. Depending on the local mercury pollution, significant additional contributions to the uptake of total mercury can occur through air and water.

We can be exposed to mercury through our dental amalgams, through household and workplace use, and through foods grown in soils with high levels of inorganic mercury.

A large study (Link) showed that rice, not fish, was a significant contributor to methylmercury pollution in regions near mercury mining areas in China.

Can edible substances other than fish and seafood contain mercury?

Yes, when crops and vegetables are grown on soil near sources that emit very high concentrations of atmospheric mercury, the seedlings “drink” mercury through their roots.

Both methylmercury and inorganic mercury are found in high concentrations in grains such as rice. Standing water is used to irrigate rice paddies, which promotes the formation of methyl mercury.

Rice seedlings “drink” both inorganic mercury deposited in the paddy field and methylmercury formed in the paddy field. A recent study reported very high levels of inorganic mercury and methylmercury in vegetables and rice grown in regions close to mercury mining areas in China (Link). This suggests that high concentrations of mercury could potentially be found in grains and vegetables grown in historic mercury mining areas of the western and northeastern United States.

What does mercury poisoning feel like?

Symptoms of methylmercury poisoning include:

peripheral vision impairment;

sensory disturbances (“tingling” feelings, usually in the hands, feet and around the mouth);

lack of coordination of movements;

impairment of speaking, hearing, walking;

and muscle weakness.

Read a first-hand account of a toddler’s mercury poisoning.

Oxidized or elemental mercury poisoning can also cause a variety of health disorders. Specific symptoms include tremors, emotional lability, insomnia, memory loss, neuromuscular changes, and headaches. In addition, there are effects on the kidney and thyroid gland.

What should I do if I fear I have mercury poisoning?

If you suspect mercury exposure, you should create a chart of your consumption of seafood (and grains and vegetables that may have been grown in mercury-contaminated soil) to show your doctor. Have your Hg levels tested in your hair and blood.

Many doctors do not automatically suspect mercury poisoning when they are first presented with symptoms like those described above. It’s important to carefully describe the symptoms and ask for hair or blood tests.

Read an example of a missed diagnosis

How long does it take for mercury to leave the human body?

In the human body, methylmercury breaks down into inorganic oxidized mercury very slowly, and it is the inorganic mercury that can be excreted in the stool over a period of several months.

How much mercury can adults tolerate without adverse effects?

The answer depends on the age, genetic makeup, and general health of the individual. Our bodies produce antioxidants that protect us from mercury and other pollutants.

However, there is a limit to how much mercury living cells can handle. The production of antioxidants takes a lot of the energy away from other important work that cells need to do to be healthy and fully functional. When cells have to fight more atoms of toxic mercury, they can’t use their energy to grow, build, divide, and be “smart.”

What does mercury do to a fetus?

Both gaseous elemental mercury (that’s the form emitted by power plants) and methylmercury (that’s the form that contaminates our fish) in a mother’s blood can easily cross the placenta and build up in the blood and organs of a developing fetus , including his or her brain.

Denken Sie an die Ultraschallbilder, die Sie während der Schwangerschaft von Ihrem Baby gesehen haben. Der größte – und fetteste – Teil dieses Fötus ist sein Gehirn. Methylquecksilber, das von Fett „angezogen“ wird (denken Sie an die Bioakkumulation), gelangt direkt in das Gehirn Ihres Babys.

Quecksilber stört die sich entwickelnde Architektur des Gehirns. Das Gehirn wächst natürlich weiter, nachdem ein Baby geboren wurde. Aus diesem Grund möchten Sie kein Quecksilber in der Nähe Ihrer Neugeborenen und Kleinkinder haben.

Können Babys mit einer Quecksilbervergiftung geboren werden?

Yes. 1 von 10 amerikanischen Frauen im gebärfähigen Alter hat potenziell gefährliche Quecksilberwerte in ihrem Körper. Konservativ ausgedrückt bedeutet dies, dass jedes Jahr 410.000 Kinder in den USA gefährlichen Quecksilberkonzentrationen im Mutterleib ausgesetzt sind.

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In einer Studie, die von 2008 bis 2010 vom Gesundheitsministerium von Minnesota durchgeführt wurde, wurden 1.465 Neugeborene, die in Michigan, Wisconsin und Minnesota leben, auf Quecksilber getestet – 8 Prozent wurden über den sicheren Werten für Methylquecksilber getestet.

Wir wissen nicht, wie viele Kinder mit Quecksilberwerten geboren werden, die über dem von der EPA empfohlenen Standard liegen, da wir Neugeborene nicht routinemäßig auf Quecksilberwerte testen.

Kommt Quecksilber in die Muttermilch?

Yes. Wenn Mütter mit Quecksilber kontaminierten Fisch essen, gelangt es in ihre Muttermilch. Aber Babys sind im Mutterleib viel mehr Quecksilber ausgesetzt als durch das Stillen, weil:

1. Der Quecksilberspiegel im Blut einer Mutter ist etwa dreimal höher als der Quecksilberspiegel in ihrer Milch

2. Quecksilber muss die Darmbarriere des Babys überwinden, um in seinen Blutkreislauf zu gelangen

Säuglinge können Quecksilber auch durch Säuglingsnahrung ausgesetzt werden, wenn sie mit Wasser zubereitet wird, das mit hohen Mengen an Methylquecksilber und oxidiertem Quecksilber vergiftet ist.

Im Allgemeinen ist die Konzentration von Methylquecksilber in Wasser 100- bis 1000-mal niedriger als die Konzentration von Methylquecksilber in Muttermilch. Konzentrationen von oxidiertem Quecksilber in Wasser können mit ihrer Konzentration in Muttermilch vergleichbar sein.

Einige evangelikale Gruppen kämpfen für strengere Quecksilberstandards. Why?

Gruppen wie das Evangelical Environmental Network verstehen, wie anfällig Föten gegenüber giftigem Quecksilber sind – sie nennen es eine „Bedrohung für das ungeborene Kind“. Sie glauben an den Schutz der fetalen Rechte und fordern die Christen auf, den Kongress zu drängen, strenge Vorschriften zu erlassen, um die Quecksilberemissionen zu stoppen.

Welche anderen Arten von Gesundheitsproblemen werden durch Quecksilberbelastung verursacht?“

Eine hohe Quecksilberbelastung kann Gehirn, Herz, Nieren und Lunge irreparabel schädigen. Eine Quecksilbervergiftung kann zum Tod führen.

Methylquecksilber kann auch unsere Gene schädigen und Krebs verursachen.

Elementares und oxidiertes Quecksilber haben negative Auswirkungen auf Enzyme, die mit der Schilddrüsenfunktion in Zusammenhang stehen; reproduktive Gesundheit; Gene, Atmungssystem; gastrointestinales (Verdauungs-) System; Leber; Immunsystem; und die Haut.

Selbst bei sehr geringen Konzentrationen kann die Exposition gegenüber anorganischem Quecksilber eine Vielzahl von allergischen Reaktionen hervorrufen.

Ich habe wegen der Kontroverse über BPA – Chemikalien, die zum Härten von Kunststoff verwendet werden – in Babyflaschen über „endokrine Disruptoren“ gelesen. Was ist ein endokriner Disruptor? Können Quecksilberverbindungen als endokrine Disruptoren wirken?

Quecksilber reichert sich in fast allen hormonproduzierenden Drüsen von Säugetieren an und wirkt sich nachweislich negativ auf die Schilddrüsen- und Fortpflanzungsfunktion beim Menschen aus. Quecksilber stört die normale Funktion des endokrinen Systems.

Es hat sich gezeigt, dass die Exposition gegenüber elementarem oder anorganischem oxidiertem Quecksilber die Rate spontaner Fehlgeburten und angeborener Anomalien erhöht und die Fruchtbarkeit bei Frauen (in einigen Fällen auch bei Männern) verringert.

Können Quecksilberverbindungen Krebs verursachen?

Einige Studien haben eindeutig gezeigt, dass Menschen, die sowohl organischem als auch anorganischem Quecksilber ausgesetzt waren, höhere Krebsinzidenzraten haben, insbesondere Leukämie, Lungen- und Leberkrebs. Andere Studien waren jedoch nicht so eindeutig, und derzeit werden Methylquecksilberverbindungen laut der Internationalen Agentur für Krebsforschung als „möglicherweise krebserregend für den Menschen“ aufgeführt.

Ist Quecksilber für andere Lebensformen als den Menschen giftig?

Ja, alles Leben, von den kleinsten mikroskopisch kleinen Formen (Bakterien und Algen) bis zu den Zellen von Pflanzen, Tieren und Menschen, muss „kämpfen“, um seine Proteine ​​zu schützen, wenn es Quecksilber ausgesetzt ist. Während jedes einzelne Quecksilberatom in jeder Form giftig ist, sind Wildtiere auf den obersten Ebenen der aquatischen Nahrungsnetze wie Seevögel, Robben, Adler und Otter besonders gefährdet.

Arktische Ökosysteme, Feuchtgebiete, tropische Ökosysteme und Bodenmikrobengemeinschaften werden ebenfalls stark durch Quecksilberbelastung beeinträchtigt. Zu den Tieren mit den höchsten Quecksilberwerten gehören Otter, Nerze, Greifvögel, Fischadler und Adler. Eier bestimmter kanadischer Vogelarten haben Quecksilberwerte, die die Fortpflanzung gefährden. Mercury levels in Arctic ringed seals and beluga whales have increased by 2 to 4 times over the last 25 years in some areas of the Canadian Arctic and Greenland.

In addition, recent evidence indicates that soil health is adversely affected by mercury exposure. And in a study of Hong Kong’s population of hump-backed dolphins, mercury was identified as a particular health hazard, more than other heavy metals.

Why is mercury so toxic to all life forms?

The all-encompassing toxicity of mercury is a consequence of its paralyzing “attraction” to the functional sites of proteins including enzymes, antibodies and nerve growth-cones that keep cells alive, “intelligent” and safe. Association with mercury makes enzymes, nerves, antibodies and in some cases hormones non-functional.

Due to differences in age, health, route of exposure, and target organs, vulnerability to mercury poisoning may vary from individual to individual. The crucial point is that mercury exposure in any form burdens the biochemical machinery within all living cells. Minimizing mercury exposure is, therefore, essential to longevity of human beings and wildlife, and ecosystem health.

Tell me about mercury and the Latino community?

Latinos are disproportionately exposed to toxic mercury and other harmful pollutants emitted from coal-fired power plants. Latinos are primarily exposed to mercury because of fishing–one-third of Latinos fish in freshwater lakes, where mercury pollution levels are significantly higher.

Latinos tend to fish in their immediate urban communities due to a lack of adequate transportation to safe fishing areas. Fish caught in these areas tend to have the highest concentrations of mercury; as a result, Latinos fishing in contaminated urban areas consume an average of 13.9 micrograms of mercury per day (twice EPA’s safe limit).

76% of Latinos eat the fish that they catch and 64% share what they catch with their families, which often include children and women of childbearing age – two of the most vulnerable populations.

Read more on mercury and the Latino community.

Tell me about mercury and the African American community?

Compared to the white population, African Americans are more likely to suffer health effects from air pollution. African Americans are far more likely to live near power plants and power plant waste sites. Additionally, more than half of all African Americans live in areas with air quality that doesn’t meet federal standards.

68% of African Americans live within 30 miles of a coal-fired power plant —the distance within which the maximum effects of the smokestack plume are expected to occur.

In 2002, 71% of African Americans lived in counties that violated federal air pollution standards

…compared to 58% of the white population

Another large concern is the fact that one-third of African Americans are avid anglers, and they eat fish more often and in larger portions than whites. Consequentially, African Americans have higher exposure to mercury. In 1996, there were 1.8 million licensed African American anglers who spent over $813 million dollars on fishing trips and equipment.

Tell me about mercury and the American Indian community?

The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) notes that some Native Americans are among the highest risk groups for mercury contamination due to their heavy fish consumption.

Members of an Indian tribe may eat up to ten times as much fish as the average American and might not even be aware of fish consumption advisories because of their separate governing institutions. Even when the tribes are aware of them, fish advisories create “a harsh choice: either risk the health of tribal members by continuing a now dangerous cultural tradition, with all the language, behavior, and spiritual connections that go with it, or heed the warnings and see centuries-old components of culture and religion slip away.”

Why is the Mercury and Air Toxics Standards rule such an important regulation?

The Mercury and Air Toxics Standards rule reduces the amount of mercury emissions from power plants. Coal-fired power plants are the single biggest source of mercury emissions in the country; they are responsible for over 50% of the mercury pollution in our air.

Prior to the finalization of the Mercury and Air Toxics Standards, the Clean Air Act did not have limits on the amount of mercury that can be emitted by power plants. The Mercury and Air Toxics Standards ensure that 90% of the mercury in coal burned in power plants is not released to the air and reduce acid gas emissions by 90%.

The Mercury and Air Toxics Standards rule will also limit mercury, acid gases, particle pollution, and other dangerous emissions from power plants.

If mercury is so dangerous, why are regulations to limit it so controversial?

While the health effects of mercury are very clear, lawmakers’ actions in Washington are less so. It is hard to make sense of Congress’s decisions; it’s as if they have forgotten that health statistics represent real people—often very vulnerable people, such as children and pregnant women.

Many of the legislative attacks opposing the EPA’s new mercury standards are being sold as an economic remedy, but in actuality they do little or nothing to create or preserve jobs. These legislative attacks would continue to allow uncontrolled air pollution– leading to more lives lost or impaired, more asthma attacks, more emergency room visits, and more children suffering from respiratory infections and compromised lung development.

Considering the abundance of health benefits simply reducing emissions from industrial boilers and cement kilns would deliver, it’s hard to understand why anyone in Washington would even debate such commonsense measures. But unfortunately that is the reality, and therefore it is important to Take Action!

Have any power plants added pollution control technology?

As of June 2010, nearly 40 coal plant units had installed technology to reduce mercury emissions, and more than 100 additional units had ordered the technology. Together, these plants total more than 55,000 megawatts of generating capacity.

As stated in this letter, signed by CEOs of major utilities, many companies have invested in modern air-pollution control technologies and cleaner and more efficient power plants. Additionally, many major power companies have also indicated that they will be able to comply with EPA’s mercury rule.

How effective is technology to control mercury emissions?

Commercial control technologies can achieve about a 90% reduction in mercury emissions from power plants.

How do you measure how much mercury is coming from a smokestack?

There are different ways to do this, but one way is through a technology called “continuous emission monitoring system” (CEMS). CEMS can be placed directly into a smokestack to take a sample of the air/gas that is travelling through the stack that will be emitted. The sample can then be analyzed for its contents of mercury or other emissions, depending on the system. See this description for more detail.

What about industrial boilers?

After coal-fired power plants, industrial boilers are the second biggest source of mercury pollution. They’re also spewing arsenic, lead, cadmium, chromium, particle pollution and dioxins. There are more than 1.5 million industrial boilers in the US. They’re big, fat, ugly, and often rusty. They’re also awesome works of simple engineering, for they produce electricity or provide heat for everything from hospitals to lumber yards. The worst offenders tend to be at chemical plants, refineries and other industrial facilities.

After boilers, cement plants are the worst sources of mercury pollution.

What do leading mercury scientists say about strong mercury regulations?

This is an excerpt from a blog post by Kritee, a scientist with the Environmental Defense Fund.

23 of the country’s leading scientific experts on mercury wrote a letter to the White House about the proposed new standard and its importance to the health and safety of all Americans. And I had the honor of joining them!

Together, our group of scientists represents at least a million hours of study on mercury and its effects. But this is the first time we’ve publicly weighed in, as a group, to support this vitally important standard.

We felt compelled to write to President because, during recent Congressional hearings – despite voluminous scientific literature to the contrary – a few people actually claimed that there is no science to back up the health benefits of decreasing pollution from power plants.

Our letter is our answer to that ridiculous claim:

As mercury scientists and physicians, we strongly refute such statements

And we:

… affirm our belief that the Mercury and Air Toxics Standards (MATS) will protect the health of thousands of Americans each year.

Some of us have studied how mercury travels in our air, soils or waters — and how it ends up in our bodies. Some of us specialize in how various forms of mercury affect everything from our individual enzymes and cells all the way to our ecosystems. We have, collectively, traced mercury all the way from smokestacks to the cells in our bodies. We also represent physicians who actually treat patients, including children, who have chronic pulmonary, cardiovascular, and neurological diseases caused by air pollution.

And we all came to the same conclusion, which we put into our letter:

… minimizing all mercury exposure is essential to improving human, wildlife and ecosystem health because exposure to mercury in any form places a heavy burden on the biochemical machinery within cells of all living organisms.

Our letter both affirms our support for the scientific findings of EPA’s Science Advisory Board on the health impacts of methylmercury, and goes a step further – to highlight the toxicity of all forms of mercury.

Here are our key points:

• The neurological development, particularly brain maturation, of fetus and young children are severely affected by methylmercury, the form of mercury that collects and concentrates in aquatic food chains.

• While the neurotoxicity of methylmercury to the young has been widely acknowledged, the effects on children and adults through exposure to all other forms of mercury have not been effectively publicized. No form is mercury is safe.

• Mercury has no biologically beneficial function; indeed, each atom that ends up in the body can be toxic to all types of cells.

• Mercury is such a potent toxin because it bonds very strongly to functionally important sites of proteins including enzymes, antibodies and nerve growth-cones that keep cells alive, “intelligent” and safe.

One of my personal heroes is the late Dr. Kathryn R. Mahaffey, who conducted careful studies for over a decade to test the mercury levels in the blood of women of child bearing age in the U.S. Her research is the reason we know that about 10 percent of babies born in America each year have mercury levels sufficient to cause adverse neurological and developmental health effects. Along with her collaborators, she also carefully compiled information on the effects of all forms of mercury on our endocrine system, including hormones that control functioning of our reproductive system.

The pioneering research tools and methodologies developed by several of the mercury research giants who have signed on to this letter helped Dr. Mahaffey reach her conclusions. Some of the signatories are now building on Dr. Mahaffey’s work in insightful ways. For example, Dr. Chad Hammerschmidt from Wright State University has written that unless we decouple mercury emission from power production, we could have as many as 30 percent of children born in the U.S with too much mercury in their blood. Along with their collaborators, Drs. David Evers, Charlie Driscoll and Thomas Holsen identified that local mercury emissions are linked to such high mercury concentrations in multiple biological species that these areas of high mercury emissions were referred to as biological mercury hotspots.

I would love to write more about the fundamental ways in which the signatories of this letter have added to the understanding of the transport, transformations and toxicity of mercury, and I encourage you read the entire letter to see who they are, and to learn more about the work they do.

We fully understand the remaining uncertainties in our understanding of the global mercury cycle. Yet we believe there is irrefutable proof for:

• The local and regional deposition of mercury from coal-fired power plants within the U.S.

• The toxicity of each and every atom of mercury in any form, and

• Rapid reductions in mercury levels in many biological species upon reductions in mercury emissions from local sources

Thus, we attest to the wisdom of stringent national-level mercury regulation. Now we need our policy makers to act. We need them to create and support a strong Mercury and Air Toxics Standards.

Read the entire text of the letter.

What are some of the major U.S. utility companies saying about strong mercury standards?

Utility companies across the country have confirmed that these standards are achievable. We have gathered some of these statements below:

NRG Energy Inc., in New Jersey, said “Having the final EPA rule on mercury gives us the clarity we need to be able to select and install the required controls to reduce mercury as well.” “We have already planned for these expenditures and will have the controls in place in time to comply with this rule.”

In Minnesota, Rochester Public Utilities noted that its “Silver Lake Plant has been prepared for the new mercury rules over the past two years with [an] emissions reduction project installed on Unit 4 in 2009.”

The Lower Colorado River Authority says it is “well-positioned” to comply with the new EPA rules. LCRA says it has been “evaluating control technologies and will be installing appropriate technologies to ensure compliance within the established compliance timeframe.”

Dynegy has stated that Illinois’ Hennepin and Havana plants are expected to remain operating and in compliance – indeed, most of the upgrades have already been done in order to comply with Illinois’ already “stringent” regulations, with which they’ve been complying since 2009. Kay Sullivan, Dynergy director of public relations, explained, “We anticipated the changes and saw the need to make an investment there. We’re where we need to be.”

Public Service of New Hampshire’s mercury pollution controls at its coal-fired Merrimack Station power plant puts the state’s largest utility in good stead to meet new federal pollution rules. PSNH said, “The really good news for New Hampshire is the mercury reduction law that the Legislature passed in 2006 put us on a path of compliance that synchs up very well with this new federal standard.”

Kansas City Power & Light has already made extensive investments to control pollution of toxic metals, and as a result has said that it is “relatively well-positioned to meet the compliance deadlines of these new rules.”

Midwest Generation has been developing and installing mercury emission controls at its plants since 2008, nearly all of the company’s generating units are already reducing mercury emissions by more than 90 percent and already comply with the USEPA’s regulation of mercury emissions. Midwest is thus more than three years ahead of the game, as the new rules don’t take effect until 2015.

Because of statewide mercury legislation passed in 2006, Minnesota’s six largest coal-fired power plant units, including Xcel’s Becker plant, already meet or are on the way to meeting the new standards announced by the Environmental Protection Agency, according to state officials.

Dairyland Power Cooperative in Wisconsin says it is prepared to comply with the new rules. Dairyland has already implemented about half of its $400 million plan to install pollution controls on coal-fired plants in Genoa and Alma. “We have anticipated a rule like this,” said spokeswoman Katie Thomspon. “We’re well prepared to be in compliance with it.”

Xcel Energy said of the final MATS rule, “We are well positioned to comply with a number of new environmental standards and regulations, like this one, thanks to early actions we have taken to modernize our generation and mitigate future environmental compliance costs.”

PSEG’s Vice President of policy and environment, Eric Svenson, said the MATS rules were “overdue” and praised EPA for adopting a pragmatic approach. Mr. Svenson noted that, despite the outcry from some interest groups, much of the industry was already compliant with the new standards. PSEG has already spent about $1.6 billion on upgrading three of its power plants.

John Russell, CEO of CMS Energy Corporation stated in anticipation of the final rule, “The final MACT rule is expected by year end. We already have a state mercury standard that requires a 90% reduction by 2015 comparable to the proposed federal rule. As a result, we have a head start on implementing these regulations. The bottom line, we are well positioned to comply with these new laws with the plans we have in place.”

A CPS Energy spokesperson said the utility is fairly well positioned to meet the MATS rule. “Those costs are already built into the budget,” she said, and the installation should be complete in about 18 months, putting the utility into compliance well before the three years allowed by the EPA.

Ralph Izzo, CEO of Public Service Enterprise Group (PSEG), stated in advance of the final rule, “During the past 5 years, we have invested more than $2 billion to replace inefficient, older generating units and to upgrade our existing facilities to meet new environmental restrictions. PSEG is a long-time advocate of the Clean Air Act Regulations. We view the EPA’s recent technical adjustments to the Cross-State Air Pollution Rule, more commonly referred to as CSAPR as favorable for our fleet. We are also well-positioned to meet the anticipated requirements under EPA’s HAPs/MACT regulation, which is scheduled to be issued on December 16. We believe these regulations are long overdue. Our experience shows that it is possible to clean the air, create jobs and power the economy, all at the same time. The issuance of these regulations will also provide the industry with much-needed certainty to invest in long lived capital intensive projects such as power plants.”

Ashlie Kuehn, a spokeswoman for Prairie State Energy Complex, which is financed by Peabody Coal, said the plant’s state-of-the-art technology already places the new plant ahead of the curve. “We are well within the emissions requirements and the mercury regulations,” Kuehn said. “We are being built to be better than those standards.”

Constellation Energy Vice President Paul Allen said of the MATS rule, “Companies have had a lot of time to think about, consider and prepare for the response to these rules. Options are available to companies to comply with the rule.”[/toggle]

Are the large, influential health organizations on board with the new mercury regulations?

In a March 19, 2012 letter, 18 of the nation’s leading health organizations came out with the following letter opposing Senator James Inhofe’s attack on Mercury and Air Toxics Standards:

Dear Senator,

Our organizations write to express strong opposition to S.J. Auflösung 37, a resolution by Senator James Inhofe that employs the Congressional Review Act to reverse the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Mercury and Air Toxics Standards for Power Plants. If enacted, S.J. Auflösung 37 would not only nullify these life-saving standards, but would permanently block EPA from issuing any “substantially similar” mercury and air toxics protections in the future without express Congressional authorization. Sen. Inhofe’s resolution would leave millions of Americans permanently at risk from toxic air pollution from power plants that directly threaten pulmonary, cardiovascular and neurological health and development. We urge you to reject S.J. Auflösung 37.

Over 21 years ago, Congress wisely directed EPA to reduce the public’s exposure to toxic air pollutants through the 1990 Amendments to the Clean Air Act. The Mercury and Air Toxics Standards finally establish those long-overdue safeguards. At last, these standards will dramatically reduce more than 80 toxic air pollutants from the more than 600 coal- or oil-fired power plants operating in the United States. EPA estimates that this vital public health protection will have enormous health benefits, preventing up to 11,000 premature deaths, 130,000 asthma attacks, 4,700 heart attacks, and 5,700 hospital visits each year starting in 2016.

According to EPA, these new standards will eliminate more than 90 percent of mercury emissions from power plants – a significant step forward in protecting public health from the debilitating effects mercury can cause, especially in unborn children. Consumption by pregnant women of food containing mercury– even at low levels – can impact fetal neurodevelopment causing delays, learning disabilities and birth defects. Power plants are the largest industrial source of mercury found in the United States.

More than 75 percent of emissions of highly corrosive acid gas pollution (e.g., hydrochloric acid, hydrofluoric acid) in the United States come from power plants. Acid gases can damage the skin, eyes, breathing passages and lungs, particularly in children who have narrower breathing passages, faster breathing rate and often spend more time outdoors than adults. In addition to mercury and acid gases, power plants emit over 80 other toxic substances. They include carcinogens such as arsenic, beryllium, chromium, dioxins and formaldehyde; toxic metals such as lead, manganese and nickel; and volatile organic compounds such as benzene and toluene. The extensive list of harm they produce ranges from a variety of cancers to damage to the neurological, gastrointestinal, immunological, hematological, reproductive and developmental systems.

To reduce these hazardous air pollutants, some power plants will need to install modern pollution control equipment or switch to cleaner fuels. Those changes will have an added benefit: reduced emissions of particulate matter, which are microscopic, deadly particles linked to heart attacks and strokes, asthma attacks, aggravation of other respiratory and cardiovascular diseases, and premature death.

Only with these strong national standards and pollution control measures can human health be protected from these toxic pollutants. Children and other vulnerable individuals, including pregnant women, older adults, and people with lung disease, heart disease, or diabetes, will benefit immensely. EPA projects between $3 and $9 in health benefits for every $1 spent in complying with the new standards. The benefits apply to people living in the shadow of power plants, and those living hundreds or thousands of miles from the power plant as toxic air pollution can travel far distances.

In fact, EPA’s estimates likely understate the total benefits of cleaning up toxic air pollutants. EPA did not attempt to calculate the benefit of cleaning up most of the over 80 toxic emissions from these power plants. For example, they did not attempt to calculate the harm from the cancers these toxic emissions can cause or the damage to the kidneys, liver and reproductive systems. Those benefits would come on top of the benefits already included.

We trust you will agree with us that the Mercury and Air Toxics Standards provide much-needed public health benefits, and that these critical protections are already long-overdue.

Sen. Inhofe’s resolution S.J. Auflösung 37 consciously elevates the demands of polluters above the health and well-being of our children. If passed, S.J. Auflösung 37 will force the public to continue breathing toxic air indefinitely. Therefore the undersigned health organizations urge you to vote NO on S.J. Auflösung 37 and to speak out publicly against any efforts to block, weaken or delay these vital public health protections.

sincerely,

American Academy of Pediatrics

American Association of Cardiovascular and Pulmonary Rehabilitation

American Association of Respiratory Care

American College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine

American College of Preventive Medicine

American Heart Association

American Lung Association

American Nurses Association

American Public Health Association

American Thoracic Society

Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America

March of Dimes

National Assembly on School-Based Health Care

National Association for Medical Direction of Respiratory Care

National Association of County and City Health Officials

National Home Oxygen Patients Association

Trust for America’s Health

Health Care Without Harm

I heard that New York City’s Mayor Bloomberg came out strongly in favor of regulation?

Here’s what Mayor Bloomberg had to say, courtesy of The Huffington Post.

Over the next few days, the Obama administration will decide whether to address a major public health challenge facing the country: the large amount of mercury that continually pours out of coal-fired power plants, contaminating our air and drinking water.

Every year, mercury from coal-fired power plants is responsible for thousands of premature deaths, heart attacks, and serious respiratory illnesses. In addition, mercury is one of the leading causes of preventable birth defects.

Today, because of mercury, a baby may be born with brain damage or cerebral palsy. An infant may begin developing asthma, which will mean missed school days, visits to the hospital, less physical exercise, and potentially a greater risk of diabetes. And a parent or grandparent may go to the hospital with a heart attack or severe bronchitis.

We can stop this. We can spare children this tragic injustice and the pain it brings their families. We can spare adults from losing years off their lives. And we can spare taxpayers the enormous health care costs that come with mercury-related-illnesses.

Coal-fired power plants are responsible for 70 percent of our nation’s mercury emissions. After being released into the air we breathe, mercury — a heavy metal — also falls into our soil and water, where it can contaminate the food we eat, especially fish.

The EPA has proposed rules that would reduce mercury emissions from coal-fired power plants by 90%, preventing 12,200 emergency room visits and saving $80 billion a year in health care costs. The rules — now sitting on the president’s desk — are two decades overdue.

In 1990, when the Clean Air Act was last revised, Congress directed the EPA to establish limits on mercury and other emissions of coal-fired power plants. In March, after 20 years of delay, the EPA has finally issued a set of draft rules. By Monday, the president will decide whether to adopt the draft rules, weaken them, or withdraw them entirely. It will be one of the defining tests of the administration’s commitment to public health and environmental protection.

The big power companies have had years to improve mercury emissions controls, and a majority of coal-fired plants (54%) have already done so. The remaining coal-fired plants are generally old and inefficient, and should have been retired years ago. The owners of these plants have been promoting the idea that the EPA’s rules will destroy the American economy and cause rolling blackouts. They won’t. It’s just a scare tactic. In fact, some of the leading voices in our nation’s utility industry — the businesses that run our power lines — do not object to the EPA’s proposed rules.

The utility industry knows that if plant owners decide it is not cost-effective to adopt mercury emission controls, those plants can be converted to cleaner-burning natural gas. That would create even more jobs and reduce costs for consumers, because natural gas plants are more efficient than coal plants. Many old plants have already undergone this transformation, and the American economy — not to mention our public health — is stronger for it.

Owners of mercury-emitting coal-fired plants also argue they need more time, as well as long-term exemptions for some plants. There will always be excuses for delay. But two decades is long enough for the American people to wait for mercury to be removed from the air we breathe.

Coal-fired power plants and the pollution they produce — including mercury — are the number one threat to our public health and the environment. That is why my foundation, Bloomberg Philanthropies, recently provided a $50 million grant to the Sierra Club’s Beyond Coal campaign, with the goal of retiring one-third of the nation’s coal fleet by 2020. But the federal government must not wait another decade — or another week — to begin phasing out a pollutant that has harmed so many people’s health.

This is not an issue of jobs versus the environment. It’s an issue of the American people’s public health versus a narrow special interest. And it is now up to the President to declare the winner.

Have other Americans spoken out in favor of mercury standards?

23 of the country’s leading scientific experts on mercury stated in a letter to Administrator Jackson, “We, the undersigned physicians and scientists studying mercury in our biological and physical environment, write to affirm our belief that the Mercury and Air Toxics Standards (MATS) will protect the health of thousands of Americans each year.” “[M]inimizing all mercury exposure is essential to improving human, wildlife and ecosystem health because exposure to mercury in any form places a heavy burden on the biochemical machinery within cells of all living organisms.”

Kenneth Kimmell of the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection said of the need for a final MATS rule, “Extensive scientific research shows widespread mercury pollution across New England, largely due to air deposition of mercury from upwind states. Because of high mercury levels, all New England states warn against eating certain types of locally caught fish.”

Albert A. Rizzo, MD, National Volunteer Chair of the American Lung Association stated, “Since toxic air pollution from power plants can make people sick and cut lives short, the new Mercury and Air Toxics Standards are a huge victory for public health.”

Ilan Levin, Associate Director of the Environmental Integrity Project, said of the MATS rule, “The only thing more shocking than the large amounts of toxic chemicals released into the air each year by coal- and oil-fired power plants, is the fact that these emissions have been allowed for so many years.” “There is no reason for Americans to continue to live with unnecessary risks to their health and to the environment.”

James Salt, Executive Director for Catholics United said, “Catholics and people of faith from across the political spectrum welcome the EPA’s new public health standards on Mercury pollution because they will protect the lives of children.”

Jeff Levi, PhD, Executive Director of Trust for America’s Health stated, “This new standard, over twenty years in the making, is a critical addition to the Clean Air Act to protect the public’s health.”

A diverse group of business leaders representing over 125,000 businesses through the American Businesses for Clean Energy, American Sustainable Business Council, Ceres, Environmental Entrepreneurs, Main Street Alliance and the Small Business Majority stated in a letter to the President, “Our experience has shown that the Clean Air Act yields substantial benefits to the economy and to businesses, and that these benefits consistently outweigh the costs of pollution reductions. We believe the finalization of MATS is a meaningful step towards economic recovery and growth.”

Howard Learner of the Environmental Law & Policy Center said, “These standards mean power plants will invest in modern pollution controls, and that investment will create jobs, cleaner air and better public health. Illinois adopted mercury pollution reduction standards in 2006 and modern control equipment has been installed at almost all coal plants in the state. The technology works, the lights have stayed on, mercury pollution has been reduced and children’s health is better protected. It’s time for the holdout utilities to stop crying wolf, stop stalling and clean up their pollution to protect children’s health and our rivers and lakes.”

Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel stated, “I commend the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for introducing new standards to reduce levels of dangerous toxins in our air. Limiting emissions of mercury and other pollutants from coal and oil-fired power plants will save thousands of lives, protect public health, and create jobs for Americans. Our experience in Illinois has shown that mercury emissions can be dramatically reduced without any impact on reliability, cost, or quality of service. We must continue to clean our air and clean up this industry across the country, to create opportunities for Americans and allow all Americans to lead healthier lives.”

Alan Baker of the American Public Health Association said of the MATS rule, “The dangerous health risks associated with coal-burning power plants is no longer an elusive, distant threat. Exposure to air pollution and toxic chemicals can cause asthma and heart attacks, harm those suffering from respiratory illness and in some cases lead to death. Implementing these critically needed standards could mean the difference between a chronic debilitating, expensive illness or healthy life for hundreds of thousands of American children and adults.”

The Rev. Fletcher Harper at GreenFaith stated,“The EPA’s new rule is a vital step forward morally and religiously. The great religious traditions to which so many US citizens belong – from Judaism, Christianity and Islam to Hinduism, Buddhism and more – are overwhelmingly clear that protecting life and the environment represent a moral responsibility, and that we are called to steward and protect an earth which, ultimately, does not belong to us. By saving thousands of lives – many of them from our nation’s most vulnerable communities – and by preventing toxic emissions, this rule will help ensure that future generations inherit a healthier, cleaner planet.”

Shannon Baker-Branstetter from the Consumers Union said, “The health risks that mercury exposure poses are serious, especially since those most at risk are children and other vulnerable populations. Mercury from large industrial sources contaminates the air we breathe and common foods that many Americans eat. Regulating mercury emissions is just a common sense way to protect consumers from these health hazards and today’s announcement is a critical step towards that goal.”

Rev. Canon Sally G. Bingham, President of Interfaith Power & Light President said, “This is good news for the religious community across America. The finalization of the Mercury and Air Toxics Standards shows us that the 40-year old Clean Air Act is still an invaluable tool to carry out our call to be stewards of God’s Creation and to serve the least among us.”

Roberto Carmona of Voces Verdes stated, “Voces Verdes applauds the Obama Administration’s important new standard to control and curb mercury and other toxic air pollution from power plants. This historic rule will benefit our nation as a whole and Latino families everywhere preventing the harmful effects of these pollutants, such as respiratory diseases, developmental problems and heart attacks in our communities. This rule protects our health while also creating thousands of jobs from the manufacturing, engineering, installation and maintenance of pollution controls to meet these standards, potentially including 46,000 short-term construction jobs and 8,000 long-term utility jobs. This is an important move to protect the public health while ensuring a brighter future for our communities.”

Robert D. Brook, M.D. at University of Michigan and American Heart Association stated of the MATS rule, “This historic action taken today by the EPA will mean that all of us now and in the future can expect to suffer fewer cardiovascular problems caused by breathing harmful air pollutants from power plants, and also see a reduction in other health issues related to mercury and fine particulate matter. Though much progress has been made in cleaning our nation’s air over the past few decades, these added safeguards should help to further reduce cardiovascular disease, the No. 1 killer in the United States. With these standards in place, generations of Americans will now be able to breathe even cleaner air, a fact we should all be proud of as a nation.”

Benjamin Todd Jealous, the President of NAACP stated, “This rule is a smart, sensible and overdue step to limit the dangerous effects of these toxins and address the racially disparate impact of air pollution. The standards will save millions of dollars in medical expenses by helping to prevent new cases of asthma attacks and other respiratory diseases that often strike families that can least afford it, while advancing a healthier quality of life for families across the nation.”

Will adding pollution controls raise my electric bill?

EPA estimates electricity bills could rise about $3–4 per month on average — a relatively small price to pay for lowering extremely dangerous emissions of mercury, a neurotoxin that can harm developing babies’ brains and young children. It’s also important to note that, historically, industry and the EPA have overestimated the costs of meeting clean air standards. As it stands, EPA estimates that the benefits outweigh the costs of this rule by 5 to 13 times.

Will adding pollution controls mean people lose jobs?

An independent report by economists predicts that the Mercury and Air Toxics Rule for power plants will add jobs, likely in the neighborhood of 28,000 to 158,000 jobs between now and 2015. This is consistent with what we have seen in the past when implementing clean air rules.

Are my CFL light bulbs safe? They contain mercury!

Mercury is in many household products. In blood pressure cuffs. In thermostats. Even in electrical switches. Things that have mercury in them, and commonly break at home, are fever thermometers and fluorescent light bulbs.

CFLs contain 5 milligrams of mercury. This is five thousand times smaller than the dropperful that would contaminate a lake [link above]. Even though this is a small amount, we must take care to dispose of the bulbs properly.

How do I clean up small mercury spills safely?

First, a couple of don’ts:

Don’t clean up a large mercury spill yourself. A broken light bulb is NOT a large spill. Call a professional service.

Don’t use a vacuum or broom to clean up mercury. They spread mercury around your home and put more mercury in the air.

Don’t put mercury down a sink, drain, or toilet.

Don’t throw out mercury with your regular trash.

To clean up a small mercury spill (no more than 2 tablespoons), follow these steps:

Open a window and run a fan to get vapors out of your home.

Keep children away from the spill area.

Remove any metal jewelry that you are wearing before cleaning up a spill. Mercury is a metal and may stick to your jewelry.

Wear rubber gloves when cleaning up the spill.

Carefully pick up any broken glass (from thermometers or light bulbs). Use sticky tape to help pick up small pieces. Put glass in a plastic bag and tie up tight.

Scoop up mercury drops with a stiff piece of paper. Sticky tape also helps to pick up small droplets. Put mercury in a plastic bag and tie up tight.

Shine a flashlight around the spill area to find smaller drops. Use a cloth rag to clean up.

Throw away rags, paper, and tape used to clean up the mercury. Put all in a plastic bag and tie up tight.

Use a heavy plastic trash bag to double bag all bags of broken glass, mercury, and cleaning items. Tie the bag tight.

After cleaning, wash hands, and stay out of the room where mercury spilled for as long as possible. Keep the window open or a fan running.

references

Thank you to Kritee for her contributions to this resource! Kritee gained postdoctoral experience on nitrogen cycling in the environment as a Camille and Henry Dreyfus post-doctoral fellow in Environmental Chemistry at Princeton University. Kritee also served as a Governor’s Executive Fellow at Eagleton Institute of Politics.

More resources about mercury

http://www.bnl.gov/des/ertd/TechDevelApp/files/pdf/71554-Local-Impacts-of-Mercury-Emissions-from-Coal-Fired-Power-Plants-on-Human-Health-Risk-Progress-Report-3-02-to-3-03.pdf

http://www.unites.uqam.ca/gmf/caruso/doc/caruso/mergler/mergler_et_al_2007.pdf

http://www.chem.unep.ch/mercury/report/Final%20report/final-assessment-report-25nov02.pdf

http://www.edf.org/health/reports/mercury-alert-cleaning-up-coal-plants

http://thinkprogress.org/romm/2011/07/04/259439/study-mercury-poisoning-disproportionately-impacts-latinos/

http://www.momscleanairforce.org/2011/11/08/porque-tenemos-que-involucrarnos-politicamente-en-los-ee-uu/

http://www.epa.gov/mercury/regs.htm

http://www.epa.gov/airquality/powerplanttoxics/

http://hpac.com/bse/understanding-industrial-boiler-mact-0610/index2.html

http://www.edf.org/sites/default/files/7534_Health_Alerts_seafood.pdf

http://www.edf.org/sites/default/files/mercury-alert-cleaning-up-coal-plants.pdf

http://www.epa.gov/mercury/effects.htm

http://www.epa.gov/ncer/childrenscenters/pesticidewinter07.pdf

http://www.energyjustice.net/files/coal/Air_of_Injustice.pdf

http://fatlip.leoweekly.com/2011/01/27/kentucky-ranked-6th-for-worst-mercury-pollution-in-america-spurs-new-coal-justice-blog/

Method memo on estimating the jobs impact of various policy changes

http://epa.gov/crossstaterule/

http://digitalcommons.wcl.american.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1352&context=sdlp&sei-redir=1

Mercury in newborns likely from mothers eating contaminated fish

More about Mercury

Understand mercury exposure

Understanding Mercury Exposure is available in Portable Document Format (PDF).

What is mercury?

Mercury occurs naturally in the environment and is also released into the environment through human activities. Mercury comes in several forms.

Elemental mercury is a silvery, odorless liquid that slowly vaporizes at room temperature and turns into a vapor.

Inorganic mercury is mercury combined with other chemical elements such as chlorine, sulfur or oxygen.

Organic mercury is mercury combined with carbon-containing compounds. A common form of organic mercury is methylmercury, which is produced by microorganisms in water and soil and accumulates in fish.

What medical tests are used to determine mercury exposure?

The most commonly accepted methods of assessing mercury exposure are urine or blood tests. Both tests typically measure total mercury levels (elemental, inorganic, and organic).

Elevated urinary mercury usually indicates exposure to an elemental or inorganic source of mercury, e.g. B. from a job that uses mercury.

Elevated blood mercury usually indicates exposure to organic mercury (eg, from eating fish containing methylmercury) or recent exposure to high levels of elemental mercury vapor. For most people, elevated blood mercury levels are associated with eating fish and other seafood that contain organic mercury.

Everyone has a small amount of mercury in their bodies. Some people may have higher than usual levels from eating fish and seafood, working with materials containing mercury, or from other sources of exposure.

Why are test results sent to the New York State Heavy Metals Registry?

Health care providers and laboratories are required by the New York State Sanitary Code to report blood or urine mercury test results to the NYS Department of Health when mercury levels meet or exceed the following levels:

Blood – 5 ng/mL (nanograms per milliliter)

urine – 20 ng/ml

Mercury levels at or above these levels do not mean you will develop adverse health effects. The reporting system aims to identify workers who may be exposed to mercury so that action can be taken to reduce exposure before health effects are likely.

How can I be exposed to mercury?

Exposure to elemental mercury is most commonly through breathing air that contains vapor of elemental mercury. This occurs in some occupations and can also occur when equipment containing mercury, such as a thermostat or thermometer, breaks and releases mercury droplets and mercury vapor into the air. Small amounts or mercury vapors are also released from dental amalgams (fillings) that contain elementary mercury.

Exposure to inorganic or organic mercury can result from skin contact with mercury or substances containing mercury (e.g. skin lightening creams) or from the use of mercury-containing medicines or vaccines.

Exposure to methylmercury (a form of organic mercury) most commonly comes from eating fish that contain methylmercury. Larger amounts of methylmercury are typically found in larger freshwater predatory fish such as smallmouth bass, walleye, and pike, and certain marine fish such as swordfish, shark, king mackerel, and brickfish.

What health effects can methylmercury have?

Health effects from mercury exposure depend on the amount and form of mercury ingested by a person, the route and duration of exposure, and the individual characteristics of the person such as age, pregnancy status and general health.

Long-term exposure to high concentrations of methylmercury mainly causes effects on the nervous system. Symptoms of long-term exposure to high concentrations of methylmercury include impaired vision, hearing, and speech, as well as tingling and numbness in fingers and toes, impaired coordination, and muscle weakness. Exposure to methylmercury is of particular concern for children and unborn babies because their nervous systems are still developing and may be more vulnerable. Methylmercury ingested by the mother can pass into her fetus and can also be passed into breast milk to breastfed infants. In some scientific studies on populations that consume relatively large amounts of seafood, very subtle effects on the nervous system, such as: B. Changes in memory, attention and language development in children have been associated with increased exposure to methylmercury in utero and/or shortly after birth.

Scientists don’t know exactly what levels of mercury in the blood can be associated with harmful effects. Some studies suggest that children born to mothers with blood mercury levels as low as 30 to 40 ng/mL may show delayed development and subtle nervous system effects in early childhood. Some reports suggest that similar blood mercury levels may be associated with visual, nervous or cardiovascular effects in adults. It has been reported that blood mercury levels above 100 ng/ml in some individuals are associated with clear signs of mercury poisoning (e.g. poor muscle coordination, tingling and numbness in fingers and toes).

How can I lower my blood methylmercury levels?

Changing your diet and eating fewer types of fish known to have high levels of mercury can lower your blood mercury levels. Many types of fish do not contain high levels of mercury. Eating a variety of different types of fish and shellfish is a great way to reap the nutritional benefits of eating fish while balancing concerns about mercury exposure. Fish is an important part of a healthy diet because it is high in quality protein, omega-3 fatty acids, and low in saturated fat, all of which can support growth, development, and overall health of the nervous and cardiovascular systems.

For information and advice, particularly about market fish such as tuna, swordfish, and shark, call the Federal Food and Drug Administration’s Food Safety Hotline (1-800-FDA-4010) or visit their website.

NYSDOH issues recommendations regarding the consumption of sport fish caught in New York State waters because some of these fish contain chemicals at levels that may be harmful to health. Much of this advice relates to fish with elevated mercury levels. This information is available by calling 518-402-7800 or visiting NYSDOH’s website.

For more information on the health effects of mercury or New York State fish consumption recommendations, contact the NYSDOH Bureau of Toxic Substance Assessment at 518-402-7800. For more information on other sources of mercury, visit the NYSDOH website.

For more information on workplace mercury exposure and control, contact the NYSDOH Bureau of Occupational Health and Injury Prevention at 518-402-7900.

Items Daily Weekly Monthly Jerome 431-X Mercury Vapor Analyzer $187.50 $472.50 $1,350

The Jerome 431-X Mercury Vapor Analyzer uses a patented gold film sensor to accurately detect and measure toxic mercury vapor in the air. This portable handheld device can be easily carried to sites with mercury problems for applications such as industrial hygiene monitoring, mercury spill cleanup and mercury exclusion testing. Simple one-button operation allows users to measure mercury levels from 0.3 to 0.999 mg/m3 in just a few seconds.

The gold film sensor is inherently stable and selective for mercury, eliminating interferences common to ultraviolet analyzers, such as water vapor and hydrocarbons. When the sampling cycle is activated, the internal pump in the 431-X draws a precise volume of air across the sensor. Mercury in the sample is adsorbed and integrated by the sensor and recorded as a proportional change in electrical resistance. The device calculates the mercury concentration in milligrams per cubic meter or nanogram and displays the final result on the LCD display. An improved film regeneration circuit in the 431-X ensures the sensor lasts even longer than previous models.

Reasonable care should be taken both when handling broken lightbulbs and when disposing of burned out lightbulbs that contain mercury. For decades, fluorescent and CFL lamps have been widely used in general commercial and residential lighting, but due to the COVID-19 situation, there is a huge increase in homeowners, businesses, and institutions using UV lamps to clean the air to clean and disinfect surfaces.

Fluorescent tubes, compact fluorescent lamps, UVC germicidal, UVA black light, metal halide and other HID light bulbs all contain mercury compounds. Incandescent, halogen and LED lamps do not contain mercury. While many HID, CFL and linear fluorescent lamps have been replaced by LEDs, there is no economical alternative to low-pressure mercury lamps for germicidal disinfection of air, surfaces and water. Mercury lamps are still predominant and the installation base has expanded greatly, raising consumer concerns about mercury exposure.

Over decades of development in lighting technology, manufacturers have produced lamps that use less and less mercury, reducing health risks. However, it’s still best to follow government and manufacturer recommendations when breaking a lightbulb that contains mercury.

EPA recommendations

According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), follow these steps:

Let people and pets leave the room. Ventilate the room for 5 to 10 minutes by opening a window. Turn off the central convection oven or air conditioning. Do not use a vacuum cleaner for cleaning. Instead, use cardboard to stuff the large chunks into a container that can be sealed tightly – preferably a jar or plastic bag. Use wet paper towels or tape to catch the small pieces and powder. Put everything in the container. Wipe the area clean with damp paper towels or sanitary towels. Place the towels in the same bin used for the other waste. Put the container outside once the cleaning is finished. Wash hands thoroughly. If gloves are used, these should also be discarded. Check with your local authority for disposal requirements. In some areas, recycling of the broken lightbulb is mandatory. In other areas, the material can be disposed of with normal waste.

For a more detailed discussion of how to dispose of broken lightbulbs that contain mercury, see the EPA article. This article is primarily concerned with the use of CFLs in the home, but many of the guidelines apply to any application where lamps containing mercury are used. And now that more homes are using UVC HVAC systems or tabletop sanitizer, homeowners should know the cleaning process when a lamp goes bad.

Manufacturer recommendations – Philips

Philips is one of the leading manufacturers of lighting technology, including mercury-free and mercury-containing light sources. Here’s what they have to say about their UVC germicidal lamps and fractions.

A ruptured lamp is extremely unlikely to affect your health. If a lamp breaks, ventilate the room for 30 minutes and remove the parts, preferably with gloves. Place them in a sealed plastic bag and take them to your local waste facilities for recycling. Do not use a vacuum cleaner.

While less detailed than the EPA recommendations, they are similar. Evacuating and ventilating the room is the first step, followed by cleaning and recycling or disposing of the broken lightbulb.

How to dispose of burned out lightbulbs that contain mercury.

Lightbulbs containing mercury are subject to both federal and state regulations. The laws apply to both consumers and businesses. The regulations vary from state to state. Some states have stricter regulations than the federal government. Check with your state and local governments to learn what to do.

Some fluorescent and HID light bulbs are manufactured with a lower mercury content. In some states, they can be legally disposed of with regular trash if they pass a toxicity test known as TCLP. This can mean significant savings for schools and businesses that have to discard large numbers of lightbulbs each year.

Reduces the risk of breakage

When glass tubing breaks, it can shatter into multiple large, small, and microscopic pieces. To fix this glass breaking, manufacturers have come up with a few ways to either prevent the breakage or at least contain the pieces. Tube protection and anti-shatter coating are the two most common protections.

Tube protector fits over linear fluorescent lamps. They can be either clear or colored. The clear ones provide basic protection and contain broken glass should the lamp break. It would not prevent the lamp from shattering if enough force is applied, but may make cleaning easier. Tube protectors are relatively inexpensive, but apply primarily to linear fluorescent lamps.

Shatterproof coating is a film applied to fluorescent, CFL, HID, or UV lamps. It does not reduce light or UV output, although it can increase the cost of light bulbs dramatically. The foil is heat shrunk onto the lamp and if the bulb breaks it will bend but not break. This can completely prevent a glass bulb from shattering. Again, the main disadvantage is the high cost of applying the film to lightbulbs.

Quartz sleeves are commonly used with UV water purification devices. They protect the glass bulb somewhat, but if the quartz sleeve breaks, the lamp will likely break and shatter as well. Quartz sleeves help to protect the electrical components and connections of the UVC lamp from getting wet.