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MERCURV
POLLUTION
Threat to Global
Environment?
Mercury-laden swordfish and "tainted tuna" were recently
banned for sale as human food. Which species wi/1 be next?
ls the " mercury seare" mere/y a passing
concern,
or does it
point up a basic fault in our modern technology?
by
Jerry Gentry
T
AST YEAR
Americans dumped over
L
1.2
mi!Hon pounds of mercury
into the air and water. Scientists
now tell us this was a grave mistake.
Mercury, once thought to be inert in
the ecosystem, has proven dcadly - and
even if we quit dumping it now, mer–
cury already in our atmosphere and
waterways will still be there for decades
to come.
The "Old Problem" of
Mercury
Even before modern scares from mer–
cury poisoning, "Aiice in Wonder–
land's" Mad Hatter characterized a very
real tragedy experienced by workers in
European hat factories in the 1800's.
One step involvcd the use of mercury
to shrink the fibers. Over a period of
time, workers in thcse factories breathed
enough mercury vapors to contract mer-
curial poisoning. Symptoms included
headaches, weakness, emotional upset,
tremors, respiratory failure, brain dam–
age and eventually death.
These cases of poisoning were tragic,
yet relatively few in relation to the
modern mercury scare. Today the stakes
are much higher - not just a few
workers in a hat factory, but our entire
global environment is threatened by
mercury pollution.
Modero Mad Hatters
Modern "Mad Hatter" incidents have
turned up with tragic results in rccent
decades. Yet human beings- industry,
governments, farmers and others -
have been slow to heed the handwriting
on the wall.
In
1953, local Japanese fishermen liv–
ing in Minamata Bay died from mer–
cury poisoning. Cause - a plastics
factory located near the bay used mer–
cury in its m<:nufacturing process, and
dumped the mercury-laden effluent into
the bay. Effect - when local fishermen
and their families ate fish caught in
Minamata Bay, a disastrous toll of
scores of human lives was taken.
In the case of Minamata Bay, the
plastics factory elirninated most of its
mercury discharge, and the local people
quit eating contaminated fish from Min–
amata Bay. The case was closed - as
far as the public was concerned.
Reports of such incidents were
publicized. Yet few regarded them of
important concern. Isolated cases of
massive mercurial poisoning were just
that - isolated cases - or so it was
thought. It was assumed there was no
cause for alarm about any widespread
mercury poisoning. Low levels of roer-