| Article
Last Updated: 10/25/2005 |
| Doctors
urge action on mercury It's not extreme environmental groups, but doctors, fishers and duck hunters who want to make sure mercury remains a high-profile issue in Utah. Last month, the 3,200-member Utah Medical Association passed a resolution urging action on the issue. The Utah Anglers Coalition and the Utah Waterfowl Association have been drafting resolutions of their own. "We're hoping the state will take this very seriously," said Jeff Richards, president of the duck group, a year-old association with about 100 members. Scientists reported last winter they had found high levels of the neurotoxin methyl mercury in the Great Salt Lake. Then, state officials issued fish consumption advisories for two water bodies and, earlier this month just before the duck season opened, they warned against eating any of two species of ducks that showed excessive contamination. "It's a real concern to us," said Richards. "These are ducks that our children are eating and our members are eating." All three groups indicated they don't want people to get sick because of the high mercury. Methyl mercury, the most toxic form of the naturally occurring metal, can build up in the food chain. And people who eat contaminated food are most at risk. Too much methyl mercury causes brain and nervous system damage. Its victims can become nauseous, suffer muscle weakness and experience memory loss. These health-related concerns lie at the heart of the UMA resolution, passed last month at the group's annual convention in Salt Lake City. Members voted to eliminate a provision urging doctors to consider mercury tests for those patients who show signs of chronic diseases. "We are stewards of our patients and our environments," said Jane Bowman, a Salt Lake City obstetrician- gynecologist. She said mercury's risks are clearly established especially for women and babies and physicians ought to be doing all they can to see how contamination might be affecting their patients. "We know about it," she said, "but it's not always on [the doctors'] radar screens." Ed Kent, chairman of the Utah Anglers Coalition, said state government and members both need a better understanding of mercury's prevalence and impacts. He noted that recreational fishing is a $325 million industry for the state. The text of the doctors' resolution The Utah Medical Association approved the following resolution about mercury in Utah's environment. Mercury exposure:
fahys@sltrib.com |
|