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Mercury Release

Yet another reason why climate change is a problem: It leads to greater mercury emissions.

Here’s what’s happening: As the earth heats up, we experience greater periods of drought, which in turn leads to more frequent forest fires in western Canada and Alaska, where mercury is stored in the rich, organic soils of the area’s peatlands. When fires burn through the peatlands, they release the mercury into the atmosphere.

Scientists know that mercury emissions often settle in soil and water and end up in the fish that eat plants at the bottom of lakes and streams. When people eat the mercury-contaminated fish, mercury enters their bloodstreams, where it is passed to children in utero. Mercury has been shown to damage the central nervous system and is implicated in numerous developmental disorders.

Researchers at Michigan State University recently showed that over a 20-year period, more than 23 metric tons of mercury was released due to forest fires. Now scientists want to know how far that mercury may travel and where it may end up.

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To read more about this and other environmental health issues, go to: www.environmentalhealthnews.org, www.ourstolenfuture.org, or www.healthandenvironment.org