The US EPA recently conducted mercury studies on the Canoochee River and the Ogeechee River and found that only 1% of the mercury in the Rivers comes from direct discharges into the river. The EPA estimates that 99% of the mercury contamination comes from air pollution.

There has been a lot of debate over whether things that we as humans do impact mercury levels. Studies conducted on soil samples have shown that the levels of mercury in the soil have greatly increased since the beginning of the industrial revolution.

One study found that releases of mercury to the air have tripled over the past 150 years. This means that 2/3 of the mercury now in the air is from human input and only 1/3 of the mercury is from “natural sources” (such as volcanoes, forest fires, etc.).

According to the 2002 Toxic Release Inventory issued by the Georgia Environmental Protection Division, over half of the stack emissions of mercury to the air in Georgia come from power plants (see graph below).

2002 Toxic Release Inventory. Georgia Environmental Protection Division.

Sources:

Georgia Environmental Protection Division. 2002. Toxic Release Inventory.
Morel, F. M.M., et al. 1998. The Chemical Cycle and Bioaccumulation of Mercury. Annu. Rev. Ecol. Syst. 29: 543-66.

United States Environmental Protection Agency. 2004. Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) Development for Total Mercury Fish Tissue in the Canoochee River (Canoochee Watershed).

Unites States Environmental Protection Agency. 2004. Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) Development for Total Mercury Fish Tissue in the Ogeechee River (Ogeechee Watershed).



Last updated on January 30, 2010 by Ogeechee Riverkeeper