New Gov't Study Shows Mercury in Fish Widespread

Five of the most commonly eaten fish that are low in mercury are shrimp, canned light tuna, salmon, pollock, and catfish. Albacore (white) tuna has more mercury than canned light tuna. Up to 6 ounces of albacore per week is allowed. Shark, Swordfish, King Mackerel, or Tilefish are at the top of the food chain, high in mercury and should not be eaten.

I do love sardines. But nobody wants to be in the same room with me afterwards. Damn.

http://www.crownprince.com/mercury.htm

I've been eating a lot of Salmon over the past few months.

What was that song, "In the year 2525..." Has arrived early. I'll just quit eating and live on vitamin pills. :sigh:

they're fed grain, but they do swim in the water.

When I first joined DU in 2007 I visited nearly every state fish/game/wildlife site and found advisories against eating fish from nearly every lake, stream and river in the country.

Over two years later and the Fed is finally connecting the dots? Jeebus.

Since the oil embargoes of the 70s we've increase dramatically the percentage of our electricity we get from coal. We also use a steadily increasing amount of electricity as do people around the world.

The rise in heavy metal contaminants in fish is mostly a result of increased heavy metal emissions from this coal. The predator fish, being at or near the top of their food chain, are where the heaviest concentrations are found. Of the predator fish, the longer they live the higher the concentration.

Tilapia and other omnivorous/vegetarian fish are usually a good choice.

spew more than 50 tons of mercury per year in the US.

Oregon's top environmental agency plans to side with one of the state's biggest polluters in its effort to seek an exemption from tough new federal rules controlling the release of toxic mercury.
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But that deal was reached in the absence of any federal regulation of mercury from such kilns. Now the federal government is stepping in with nationwide rules that would require an even greater drop in mercury pollution from the Baker County plant, the nation's largest single source of airborne mercury.

The cement plant, situated near the rural community of Durkee, employs 116 people and carries a payroll of roughly $9 million. The new rules would force it to shut down, say its Kansas-based owners.

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If the new federal rules are enacted as written, mercury emissions would drop by between 81 and 93 percent by 2013, the EPA predicts.

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The proposed rules would limit mercury emissions from the 152 plants like that in Baker City to 43 pounds of mercury per million tons of clinker. Currently the Durkee plant emits roughly 2,500 pounds of mercury per million tons of clinker, nearly 60 times what would be allowed under the new rules.

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That's just what has happened. The proposed rules, Hrizuk said, would require that their mercury emissions be about 1 percent of what they are now.

"We don't think that's technologically achievable, and the company doesn't, either," said DEQ's Ginsburg.

Even the EPA acknowledges that the Durkee plant won't be able to meet requirements under the new rule with the new carbon capture system alone, and that it could close.

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http://www.oregonlive.com/environment/index.ssf/2009/08/oregons_top_environmental_agen.html

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I skimmed over this news and was considering no more fish.

This is good news that catfish is one of the lowest.