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Fish Consumption Warning List Mercury Contamination is Blamed |
The Department of Natural Resources has released the names of 11 lakes in the state that are being added to the fish consumption advisory the DNR publishes jointly with the State Health Department warning anglers not to eat certain game fish due to high levels of mercury contamination.Keith Reopelle (608) 251-7020
Dr. Ann Behrmann (608) 275-2821
Chuck Rolfsmeyer (608) 838-3040
“We’ve known about these high levels of mercury in Wisconsin lakes for more than 25 years and still no action has been taken to reduce mercury emissions from the largest sources – coal-fired power plants,” said Chuck Rolfsmeyer, President of the WI B.A.S.S. Federation. “The legislature has a golden opportunity to reduce toxic mercury emissions from these sources by passing Senate Bill 177.”
The new lakes found with unsafe levels of mercury in fish include:
“This
brings the list of mercury contaminated lakes in the state to 341,” said
Keith
Reopelle, Program Director for Wisconsin’s Environmental Decade.
“How many lakes do we need before policy makers take action?”
The DNR discovers unsafe levels of mercury in about one out of every three lakes it tests. The largest sources of mercury emissions entering Wisconsin lakes are coal-fired power plants and waste incinerators.
“The growing list of mercury contaminated lakes scars our otherwise outstanding fishing tradition in Wisconsin,” said Ted Lind, President of the WI Council of Sportfishing Organizations. “The answer is certainly not to fish less, but to follow the fish advisory and start requiring reductions in mercury emissions at the source.”
“We’ve known about these high levels of mercury in Wisconsin lakes for more than 25 years and still no action has been taken to reduce mercury emissions from the largest sources – coal-fired power plants,” - Chuck Rolfsmeyer
“Mercury is a potent neurotoxin that selectively damages the developing brain,” said Dr. Ann Behrmann, pediatrician with Group Health Cooperative. In young children, symptoms of mercury poisoning include lower IQ, reduced attention span, reduced short-term memory, and other more severe symptoms.
In adults, symptoms include loss of feeling in the extremities, impaired vision, hearing and taste, and memory loss. “Wisconsin families need the safeguards of reduced mercury emissions contained in SB 177 to protect the health of our children and Wisconsin’s future generations,” said Behrmann.
Senator Brian Burke (D-Milwaukee), co-author of SB 177 said, “Wisconsin needs to take on mercury contamination like we took on acid rain. For the sake of our children’s health and natural resources, the legislature shouldn’t shy away from this challenge.”
Senate Bill 177, if passed, would require gradual mercury emissions reductions over 15 years from the state’s largest sources. “This bill is an extremely reasonable approach to protecting children’s health from mercury contamination,” said Reopelle.
