Catskills Contaminated with Mercury: Studies Link Coal-Fired Factories to Pollution in 2 N.Y. Mountain Ranges
Poughkeepsie Journal.com
14 Jan 2006
Kathy Fallon Lambert
Photo courtesy of Lee Ferris
New research has identified as many as 14 biological mercury "hotspots" in northeastern North America and suggests that contamination in wildlife is linked to pollution from coal-fired industry. The hotspots are areas where wildlife has excessive levels of contamination. One known hotspot occurs in the Adirondack Mountains, and another is suspected in the Catskills. In humans, mercury can damage brain development, learning and neurological functioning, especially on developing fetuses and children. The effects documented in wildlife are similar. The two studies were coordinated by the Hubbard Brook Research Foundation and are featured in the January issue of the peer-reviewed scientific journal BioScience.
The 11-scientist Hubbard Brook team used more than 7,300 observations to quantify mercury levels in fish, birds and other wildlife at lakes and reservoirs from New York to Nova Scotia. The results go a long way toward confirming earlier results that used computer models to predict the location of hotspots. Mercury, a naturally occurring element, is released into the atmosphere when power plants or other industrial facilities burn coal. The largest sources of mercury in New York are Hudson Valley cement plants.
Canada's Critters Have Their Seasons Mixed Up
Knoxnews.com
14 Jan 2007
Michael Valpy
Critter-wise in Ontario's fields and forests, it's become crowded out there. Birds that should have gone south. Little animals that should be snuggled up in their burrows. Insects that shouldn't be seen at all. They're all out this winter. And the naturalists, zoologists and animal-health scientists who observe them aren't sure what they're seeing because, as University of Guelph veterinarian and epidemiologist David Waltner-Toews points out, "Warm weather and no snow in winter is uncharted territory, and the bottom line is we haven't studied this."
Squirrels? Everyone is noticing more squirrels. And chipmunks are scampering around for days instead of briefly poking their heads above ground. More vultures, bald eagles, ducks, yellow-rumped warblers, great blue herons - to name a few bird species. There are also more insects, such as midges, when no one would think of seeing midges. Southwestern Ontario naturalist Alan Wormington says there is no huge change in animal and bird behavior.
Idaho Sees Decline in Trout
Associated Press (Posted by casperstartribune.net)
16 Jan 2007
Keith Ridler
Two of the West's largest remaining populations of Yellowstone cutthroat trout face sharp declines due to contamination from phosphate mines in southeast Idaho, Idaho State University professors say. Rob Van Kirk, a professor who specializes in mathematical models of aquatic ecosystems, and Sheryl Hill, a biology professor, on Thursday released a study that predicts a precipitous fall of the prized game fish in some streams and an overall decline in populations in the region. They said contamination comes from selenium leaching out of waste rock from the mines. Selenium is a naturally occurring mineral that is healthy in small quantities but can build up to toxic levels.
At phosphate mines, it leaches out of waste rock and accumulates in stream sediments, where it goes through the food chain from plants to insects to fish. "The bottom line is there are (selenium) concentrations in fish that are high -- high by anyone's standards, not just cherry picking standards -- and that indicate a high risk of population declines," Van Kirk said. The Bozeman, Mont.,-based Greater Yellowstone Association -- whose stated mission is to protect the lands, waters, and wildlife of the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem -- paid the university about $8,600 to produce the report. The organization is trying to collect expert data on how phosphate mines are effecting fish and wildlife, spokesman Marv Hoyt said.
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