Mercury Contamination in Illinois: Presentation to the Lumpkin Family Foundation Gathering

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Mercury Contamination in Illinois Presentation
to the Lumpkin Family Foundation Gathering

• Rebecca Stanfield
• Illinois Public Interest Research Group (Illinois
  PIRG)

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Overview of Presentation

• Detrimental Effects of Mercury on Health and
  Wildlife
• Extent of Mercury Contamination in Illinois and
  Lake Michigan
• Sources of Mercury Pollution
• U.S. EPA Utility Mercury Regulation, Illinois
  Implication

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Human Health Impacts, Part 1

• Childrens Neurodevelopment
• Learning disabilities
• Developmental delays
• Loss of motor skills
• Vision and hearing problems
• Effects are certainly lasting, possible permanent

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A few key studies

• 2000 NAS report Concludes that risk of
  neurological damage to children from chronic,
  low-dose prenatal expsoure to methylmercury,
  likely to be sufficient to result in an increase
  in number of children who require special ed.
• 2004 U.S. EPA estimates doubled previous
  estimates of the number of children exposed in
  the womb to levels of mercury that are
  sufficiently high to cause neurotoxic effects to
  630,000 based on increasing evidence that mercury
  concentrates in the umbilical cord.
• 2004 Harvard School of Public Health Concluded
  that damage to childrens brain function caused
  by exposure in womb is likely irreversible.
• September 2005 Mt. Sinai School of Medicine study
  published in American Journal of Industrial
  Medicine estimates 1500 children per year born
  with sufficient neurological damage to cause
  mentally retarded, estimated cost to economy of
  2 billion annually.

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Adult Health Impacts

• Mercury exposure can affect multiple organ
  systems, including nervous system, heart and
  immune system throughout lifespan.
• Higher mercury levels associated with increased
  risk of heart attacks.
• Eliseo Guallar et al, Mercury, Fish Oils, and
  the Risk of Myocardial Infarction, New England
  Journal of Medicine, 347 (22), 1747-1754,
  November 28, 2002.
• Ellen Silbergeld, Dept. of Environmental Health
  Sciences and Epidemiology, Johns Hopkins
  University, Bloomberg School of Pubic Health.
• Edna Yokoo et al, Low Level Methylmercury
  Expsure Affects Neuropsychological Function in
  Adults, Environmental Health, 2(8), June 2003.

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Wildlife impacts

• Bald Eagles Last month in Southern Indiana a
  farmer found a bald eagle that was very sick and
  disorieted, it tested positive for high levels of
  mercury, and recovered after treatment for
  mercury poisoning.
• Loon chick production in Wisconsin declining on
  lakes where methlymercury content of chick blood
  was elevated.
• Meyer, Evers, Hartigan and Rasmussen.
  Environmental Toxicology ad Chicmistry, Vol 17,
  No. 2 (1998)
• Reduced survivorship in otters in areas where
  mercury deposition levels are high.
• Mierle, Addison, macDonald and Joachim. Mercury
  Levels in Tissues of Otters form Ontario, Canada
  Variation with Age, Sex and Location.
  Environmental Toxicology ad Chemistry, Vol. 19,
  No. 12 (2000).

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Extent of Contamination in Illinois

• IDPH Mercury Advisories
• Types of fish included in the advisory (predator
  fish) Largemouth bass, smallmouth bass, spotted
  bass, striped bass,white bass, hybrid striped
  bass, walleye, sauger, saugeye, flathead catfish,
  muskellung, and northern pike.
• Sensitive populations Children under 15,
  pregnant or nursing women, women of childbearing
  age.
• All bodies of water Sensitive populations
  should eat no more than one meal per week of
  predator species.
• 13 bodies of water with special advisory based
  on monitoring Sensitive populations warned to
  eat no more than 1 meal per month, and EVERYONE
  advised to eat no more than one meal per week.

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Extent of contamination (cont)

• 13 bodies of water, special mercury advisories
• Arrowhead Lake
• Campus Lake
• Cedar Lake
• Devils Kitchen Lake
• Kinkaid Lake
• Lake In the Hills
• Little Grassy Lake
• Marquette Park Lagoon
• Midlothian Reservoir
• Monee Reservoir
• Ohio River
• Rock River
• Lake Bracken

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Extent of Contamination (cont)

• U.S. EPA Fish Tissue study 4 years of testing,
  500 lakes across the country
• First two years of data released last fall
• 2547 fish, both predator and bottom-dwelling, all
  had mercury contamination
• 73 fish from IL tested, half had Hg
  concentrations unsafe for women (.13 ppm)
• 38 predator fish from IL tested, 75 had Hg
  concentrations exceeding level unsafe for women.

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Mercury Sources

• Air deposition is the most significant
  contributor to mercury in our waterways (U.S. EPA
  Report to Congress)
• Coal burning power plants (41)
• Commercial and Industrial boilers (8.3)
• Chlorine manufacturing (5.6)
• Municipal waste combustors (4.3)
• Hazardous wast combustors (2.5)
• Medical waste incinerators (2.4)

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Mercury sources (cont)

• In Illinois, coal combustion bears even more of
  the blame for the problem -- 60 of the air
  emissions
• Power plants emit 4125 lbs per year, out of total
  of 7000.
• Onyx Environmental Services in Sauget, IL (1546
  lbs/year)
• Big River Zinc, also in Sauget, IL (579 lbs per
  year).

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Deposition

• Industry argues that mercury emissions do not
  cause local problems, citing evidence of
  emissions drift over long distances. They use
  this argument to back emissions trading
  proposals, and to claim that cleaning up U.S.
  sources wont result in reducing U.S. mercury
  concentrations.
• In fact, mercury can deposit locally, AND it can
  also travel long distances. 66 of mercury
  deposited in the U.S. comes from U.S. sources.
• Determining factors When power plants emit
  mercury in an oxidized or particulate-bound
  phase, it deposits locally. When they emit Hg as
  a gaseous elemental phase, which travels far
  before being oxidized and deposited.
• Last month NOAA found that power plants in the
  Chicago area were the biggest contributor to
  mercury in Lake Michigan.
• Experience in Florida and Wisconsin shows that
  when you ratchet down emissions from
  incinerators, you get a proportional reduction in
  mercury concentrations in nearby waterbodies.

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U.S. EPA mercury rule
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U.S. EPA Mercury rule, cont.

• Delisted mercury under section 112 of the CAA,
  declined to regulate with a MACT standard
• Set cap of 38 tons for 2010 (co-benefits, no
  mercury specific controls)
• Set cap of 15 tons for 2018
• Allows mercury trading
• Allows banking, which means cap likely to be met
  after 2020
• Illinois budget for 2010 is 3000 lbs., but
  trading makes it unlikely even this will be met
• Illinois budget for 2018 is 1258 lbs.

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Several states adopting better rules-

• New Jersey 90 capture by end of 07 or 3mg/MWh.
• Connecticut 90 capture by 2008, or .6lbs per
  trillion Btu
• Massachusetts 95 capture by 2012, or .0025
  lbs/GWh
• .PA, MI, WI also considering stronger rules.