Anniston Star
May 30, 2003

Mercury levels remain high in state waterways

By Sara Clemence
Star Staff Writer
05-30-2003

Gene Moore climbs aboard a boat at Harts Ferry Landing in Ohatchee as Sonny Childers holds it steady. The two men, joined by boat owner Bobby Trammell, came from Birmingham to fish the Coosa River near H. Neely Henry Lake Dam. Photo: Kevin Qualls.
Alabama's rainfall appears clean and clear, but high levels of mercury lurk in it, potentially polluting waterways, wildlife and people, a national environmental group said Thursday.

Rainwater samples taken in the past few years have shown average mercury levels above the Environmental Protection Agency's human health standard for lakes, according to a report by the National Wildlife Federation.

The environmental group looked at data gathered by the National Mercury Deposition Network from three testing sites in Alabama: Bibb, Baldwin and Mobile counties. Though limited, the sampling could indicate a widespread problem for people and the angling industry, the report said.

Mercury affects the human nervous system, and can be especially harmful to developing children. When mercury gets into waterways it accumulates in wildlife such as fish, which could then be eaten by humans.

The highest mercury level, found at a Southern Company sampling site in Bibb County, was about 20 times the federal standard of 3.5 parts per trillion, the report said. Even the highest levels were below the state standard of 120 parts per trillion. But for years, mercury levels in fish have triggered consumption advisories around the state.

"The issue with Alabama is, here is a state that has a known problem with mercury but has done nothing in terms of targeting in-state sources," said Felice Stadler, one of the authors of the report.

Mercury occurs naturally in the environment, and is released into the air and water by sources including coal-fired power plants, cement manufacturers, incinerators and certain chlorine-producing plants.

Among the organization's recommendations for reducing mercury were: require a chemical plant in Colbert County to convert to a non-mercury process for making chlorine; develop a program to reduce coal-burning emissions; adopt stringent standards to protecting wildlife and people; and expand the state fish monitoring program.

In 2000, Alabama facilities released more than 40,000 pounds of mercury pollution into the environment, according to an EPA database.

In contrast, Georgia facilities released less than 7,000 pounds, Florida facilities less than 5,000 pounds and Mississippi less than 1,500 pounds.

Eight of the top 10 sources of air emissions in the state are power plants, according to the National Wildlife Federation Report.

Five of those are owned by Alabama Power.

An Alabama Power official said the company has been "very proactive" about studying ways to reduce mercury.

"Southern Company-wide, we anticipate that we will be reducing mercury emissions from our plants from 50 percent to 80 percent by early next decade," said Alice Gordon, Alabama Power spokeswoman, by email.

The company's Gaston plant has been chosen by the Department of Energy as the nation's first full-scale mercury control testing site, Gordon said.

The Alabama Department of Environmental Management has a water-monitoring program that rotates among five river basins, an ADEM official said.

"Obviously with 77,000 miles of creeks and rivers, you can't monitor every water body every year," said Scott Hughes, spokesman for ADEM. "If we do see a problem, we take appropriate steps to address it."