Coal Fired Power Plants Are the #1 Source of Mercury to Our Fish and Seafood

Photo by Tim Goodson. Courtesy Ogeechee Riverkeeper.Every year in Georgia thousands of pounds of mercury are released into our air from burning coal.

This mercury falls into nearby streams, wetlands, and rivers and is converted into a more toxic form, methylmercury.

In the bottom of the rivers and swamps, this mercury is taken up by little bugs.  The little fish eat the little bugs.  The big fish eat the little fish, and we eat the big fish. 

All along the way the mercury builds up in the food chain.  We are the ultimate mercury accumulators. 

When mercury contaminated fish are eaten by pregnant women, the developing baby's brain can become poisoned.  Resulting in lowered IQ levels, learning disabilities and other problems.

According to the US Environmental Protection Agency, 99% of the mercury in the Ogeechee River system comes from air pollution.   The biggest sources of mercury to our air are coal fired power plants.

The mercury pollution problem is statewide in Georgia.  As you can see from the following map, most of the rivers and lakes with excessive mercury levels in fish are within a 100-km radius of coal plants. 

The exception is that many streams in south Georgia, like the Ogeechee, the Satilla, and the Okefenookee Swamp, have a unqiue water chemistry.  These streams convert mercury from air pollution into the highly toxic form, methylmercury, more rapidly than other types of streams.  That means that these "blackwater" systems are the most vulnerable to mercury pollution.

Rivers in Georgia with mercury in fish and Georgia's coal plants. Courtesy Southern Environmental Law Center.

Despite clear, scientific evidence that coal fired power plants are dangerous to our health, AND that south Georgia streams are the most vulnerable systems to mercury pollution, the state of Georgia recently permitted 2 coal plants in south Georgia.  A third one is being considered. 

BUT, we can reverse this trend.  Since coal plants are the biggest source of mercury, by signing the petition to oppose the construction of new coal plants, we can reduce the amount of mercury coming into the rivers and coast.

The short 2 minute video below provides more information on the sources of mercury and how it gets into our river systems.

Sources of Mercury to the Rivers and Coast from Chandra Brown on Vimeo.