© Kelly J. JamesDensely forested areas, such as those found along the Oregon Coastal Range, collect substantial amounts of mercury because they receive high amounts of precipitation.
Mercury contamination is widespread, at various levels across western North America in air, soil, sediment, plants, fish and wildlife.
An international team of scientists led by the U.S. Geological Survey, recently documented widespread mercury contamination in
air, soil, sediment, plants, fish, and wildlife at various levels across western North America. They evaluated potential risk from mercury to human, fish, and wildlife health, and examined resource management activities that influence this risk.
"Mercury is widespread in the environment, and under certain conditions
poses a substantial threat to environmental health and natural resource conservation," said Collin Eagles-Smith, USGS ecologist and team lead. "We gathered decades of mercury data and research from across the West to examine patterns of mercury and methylmercury in numerous components of the western landscape. This effort takes an integrated look at where mercury occurs in western North America, how it moves through the environment, and the processes that influence its movement and transfer to aquatic food chains."
More than
80 percent of fish consumption advisories posted in the United States and Canada are
wholly or partially because of mercury. Fish consumption provides many health benefits to people, but the presence of mercury at high concentrations in fish can reduce some of those benefits. Balancing the protection of human health from mercury while also communicating health benefits associated with fish consumption requires detailed information about the distribution of mercury among fish species and across various aquatic systems.
Comment: World Health Organization: Prolonged exposure to low levels of radiation increases the risk of cancer