Stopping mercury pollution in New England.

• Author: Ingmarsson, Lisa
• Position: Conservation Law Foundation

Sadly, the lower Merrimack River and Great Bay estuary watersheds have been identified as mercury "hotspots," areas where wildlife show highly elevated levels of toxic mercury. Yellow perch and brook trout are among the affected species. With 75 percent of New Hampshire's lakes and ponds located in the Merrimack River watershed, this is a distressing discovery for fishermen and wilderness enthusiasts.

Cunningham, a volunteer in CLF's New Hampshire Advocacy Center, is deeply concerned about the mercury problem.

"It saddens me that a beautiful and seemingly pristine pond in rural New England can actually have mercury levels that make the fish dangerous to eat," he says. "The fact that you can only enjoy a few of the fish you catch each year because of industrial pollution is truly sad. Frankly, it is unacceptable."

Warnings against consuming too much freshwater fish caught in New England are necessary because exposure to mercury can cause serious health problems, especially for pregnant women and children. Commercially caught saltwater fish, including tuna and shrimp, are also known to contain high levels of mercury. In fact, eating mercury-contaminated fish and shellfish is the primary source of human exposure.

Mercury is not only a significant public health threat. Its presence in New England's rivers, streams and lakes has also drastically altered the rich, generations-old tradition and culture of inland fishing. As the leading advocate for New England's environment and communities, CLF is launching a major initiative to combat mercury pollution in the region.

CLF'S PETER SHELLEY REMEMBERS playing with mercury in his junior high science classroom. "We used to break thermometers to collect the balls of mercury," he recalls. "Then we'd slap our hands together to see how far they would splatter. We had no clue how dangerous the stuff was."

Many people have similar memories. But today we know that mercury is a powerful neurotoxin and can be extremely harmful to humans and other organisms. According to the National Academy of Sciences, mercury impairs learning, memory and attention in children. It is linked to fatigue, memory loss and increased risk of heart attacks in adults.

Coal-burning power plants are the largest source of mercury pollution in the U.S., collectively emitting 4-8 tons of mercury annually, or 40 percent of all emissions. The mercury settles both in water and onto land where microorganisms transform it into highly toxic methylmercury. On land...