Fish Toxics Initiative

See fish toxins information area.

Soundkeeper will begin collecting and testing local fish stock from the Sound as part of a national initiative to demonstrate the impact of airborne mercury emissions on marine life.  This action is in direct response to the recent decision of the EPA to rollback limits and goals previously set.

Soundkeeper has joined the National Waterkeeper Alliance in an initiative to reinstate mercury emission limits for coal-fired power plants to a 90% reduction in five years. Mercury is one of the most highly toxic environmental substances and is regrettably common.  It is particularly dangerous to pregnant women and young children, causing birth defects, brain disorders and behavioral disorders, including Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD) and uncontrollable rage.  The Center for Disease Control estimates that 12 percent of U.S. women of childbearing age, and up to 630,000 children born each year, suffer from unsafe levels of mercury in their bodies.

Mercury contamination in North America’s marine ecosystems has not reached the severe levels experienced in the areas outside the US, yet increasing levels of mercury contamination in North America’s waterways has resulted in US states and most Canadian provinces issuing fish consumption advisories covering 30% of U.S. lakes (12 million acres) and 453 thousand miles of America’s rivers.  Fish from these waters are unsafe for consumption. The number of state mercury advisories has increased from 27 states in 1993 to 45 states in 2002.

The EPA developed the original mercury limits with the cooperation of industry representatives, scientists, and environmental health professionals.  The current emission levels of 50 tons per year were to be reduced by 90% by 2010.  The recent rollbacks of these goals are motivated by financial rather than health concerns as there is no evidence of diminished contamination. In fact, the threat has increased.  Further, mercury is an unnecessary byproduct of power plants -- the technology to limit it is readily available.

The Waterkeeper Alliance initiative seeks to demonstrate the pervasiveness of mercury in the marine environment with the goal of reinstating emission limits.  This will involve an extensive analysis of fish samples, and a related report.  Soundkeeper will collect fish specimens for analysis by the University of North Carolina’s Environmental Studies Foundation.  The Foundation is collecting samples from around the country to determine prevailing mercury levels in fish.  The data will be used to demonstrate the increase of non-natural mercury levels in aquatic organisms over the last ten years.