by Caleb W.
There are a variety of environmental issues affecting the state of Michigan. One very large problem is the rising levels of mercury and other toxins in the fish. High levels of mercury can cause many health problems in humans and in order to make a change drastic measures must be taken both in and outside of Michigan. This essay will first lay out what mercury levels in fish means and how it occurs and then explore its greater impact on Michigan.
First off how exactly does mercury get into fish? To explore that first the question of how the mercury gets into the water needs to be answered, According to an article written by Jeff Alexander’s article “Michigan’s widespread toxic fish problem redefines catch and release” for bridge magazine “mercury and toxic PCBs emitted into the atmosphere from sources around the world rain down on Michigan’s lakes and rivers”. Essential what that means is that when a factory or other such source burns compounds that release mercury into the air those emissions mix together with rain clouds and the resulting rain carries that mercury back down to earth where it enters that water supply. These emissions according to Alexander come in part from coal fired plants. Alexander writes that In 2005 coal fired plants accounted for 47 present of the mercury that Michigan pumped into the air. Steps in recent years however have been put in place to help stem the flow in Alexander’s article he quotes Randi Berris from DTE who states that “the utility has decreased it emissions by 35 percent between 2007 and 2012.” Also Alexander mentions that Michigan’s new requirements are set to reduce emissions by 90-75 percent. Though this progress may not be enough and even if it is it will take a long to time to reverse the damage. Alexander in his article says that according to Michigan’s Draft cleanup plan. “Reducing PCBs and mercury levels in fish to safe concentrations will require cutting global PCB emissions by 94 percent and global mercury emissions 82 percent…getting there will take 50 years for PDBs, possibly longer for mercury.” this seems to show that this problem is one that will be hard to reverse and require drastic action to even begin to make a dent in the issue.
The big deal over Mercury levels in fish come from the health problems that high levels of the substance can have when ingested. According to a Detroit free press article “Graphic: Great Lakes Fish and Mercury levels”. Mercury can hamper brain development in children resulting in vision, hearing and speech problems. The graphic above shows the mercury levels in fish commonly caught in Michigan lakes across the state. One look at this graphic taken from the Detroit free press article mentioned earlier shows the importance that this issue has to the state of Michigan. As the map shows most of the state is colored orange which indicates that the mercury levels in these fish are above .30 parts per million which as the Map points out the EPA has stated is a dangerous level of mercury for human consumption. This means that almost all of the state especially the Upper Peninsula has levels of mercury in there fish that are dangerous for human consumption. This is a worrying and somewhat grim picture and implies that action must be taken in order to protect the not only the human fisherman but the fish themselves.The location that I would like to explore are the lakes around where I live in the northern lower peninsula as is visible in the graphic these are among the hardest hit, and for the paper it will explore how mercury levels have changed over the years and what are some of the sources of the mercury.
Bibliography
Alexander, Jeff, “Michigan’s Widespread toxic fish problem redefines ‘catch and release’”, Bridge Magazine, February 11, 2014, http://www.mlive.com/environment/index.ssf/2014/02/michigans_toxic_fish_redefine.html#incart_river
“Graphic: Great Lakes fish and mercury levels”, The Detroit Free Press, Oct. 11 2011, http://www.freep.com/article/20111012/NEWS06/111011074/
First off how exactly does mercury get into fish? To explore that first the question of how the mercury gets into the water needs to be answered, According to an article written by Jeff Alexander’s article “Michigan’s widespread toxic fish problem redefines catch and release” for bridge magazine “mercury and toxic PCBs emitted into the atmosphere from sources around the world rain down on Michigan’s lakes and rivers”. Essential what that means is that when a factory or other such source burns compounds that release mercury into the air those emissions mix together with rain clouds and the resulting rain carries that mercury back down to earth where it enters that water supply. These emissions according to Alexander come in part from coal fired plants. Alexander writes that In 2005 coal fired plants accounted for 47 present of the mercury that Michigan pumped into the air. Steps in recent years however have been put in place to help stem the flow in Alexander’s article he quotes Randi Berris from DTE who states that “the utility has decreased it emissions by 35 percent between 2007 and 2012.” Also Alexander mentions that Michigan’s new requirements are set to reduce emissions by 90-75 percent. Though this progress may not be enough and even if it is it will take a long to time to reverse the damage. Alexander in his article says that according to Michigan’s Draft cleanup plan. “Reducing PCBs and mercury levels in fish to safe concentrations will require cutting global PCB emissions by 94 percent and global mercury emissions 82 percent…getting there will take 50 years for PDBs, possibly longer for mercury.” this seems to show that this problem is one that will be hard to reverse and require drastic action to even begin to make a dent in the issue.
The big deal over Mercury levels in fish come from the health problems that high levels of the substance can have when ingested. According to a Detroit free press article “Graphic: Great Lakes Fish and Mercury levels”. Mercury can hamper brain development in children resulting in vision, hearing and speech problems. The graphic above shows the mercury levels in fish commonly caught in Michigan lakes across the state. One look at this graphic taken from the Detroit free press article mentioned earlier shows the importance that this issue has to the state of Michigan. As the map shows most of the state is colored orange which indicates that the mercury levels in these fish are above .30 parts per million which as the Map points out the EPA has stated is a dangerous level of mercury for human consumption. This means that almost all of the state especially the Upper Peninsula has levels of mercury in there fish that are dangerous for human consumption. This is a worrying and somewhat grim picture and implies that action must be taken in order to protect the not only the human fisherman but the fish themselves.The location that I would like to explore are the lakes around where I live in the northern lower peninsula as is visible in the graphic these are among the hardest hit, and for the paper it will explore how mercury levels have changed over the years and what are some of the sources of the mercury.
Bibliography
Alexander, Jeff, “Michigan’s Widespread toxic fish problem redefines ‘catch and release’”, Bridge Magazine, February 11, 2014, http://www.mlive.com/environment/index.ssf/2014/02/michigans_toxic_fish_redefine.html#incart_river
“Graphic: Great Lakes fish and mercury levels”, The Detroit Free Press, Oct. 11 2011, http://www.freep.com/article/20111012/NEWS06/111011074/