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By Miriam Raftery
January 13, 2013 (San Diego’s East County) – A shocking new study released January 8 by the Biodiversity Research Institute finds that 84% of fish worldwide are contaminated with mercury. This week, the United Nations begins negotiations in Geneva on an international mercury treaty aimed at curbing the contamination.
Contamination findings were so high that based on health guidelines, only one fish per month should be eaten in the U.S. In Japan and Uruguay, where levels were highest, no fish should be consumed. In Japan, fish has traditionally been a dietary staple.
Mercury, a highly toxic heavy metal linked to neurological damage in humans, can enter the environment and the human body from several sources. including coal-fired power plants, gold mining, and other industrial operations.
A separate United Nations report finds communities in developing countries face additional risks of mercury contamination due to heavy use of the chemical in gold mining and coal burning facilities found in those nations.
“Mercury, which exists in various forms, remains a major global, regional and national challenge in terms of threats to human health and the environment,” UNEP’s Executive Director, Achim Steiner, said in a news release on the studies.
Learn more:
http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=43897
http://www.briloon.org/research/research-centers/hgcenter/hgcenter-pub/gmh-media-library
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