High Mercury Levels Found in One-Fourth of Adults

One-quarter of adult New Yorkers, roughly 1.4 million people, have elevated levels of mercury in their blood, mainly from eating certain fish, according to survey results released yesterday by the city’s Department of Health and Mental Hygiene.

The survey, part of a comprehensive study of the health of city residents, found that blood mercury levels were highest among Asians, women and higher-income New Yorkers.

The elevated mercury levels that were found pose little, if any, health risk for adults, but may increase the risk of neurological damage in fetuses and infants whose mothers pass on the mercury through their bloodstreams during pregnancy or through breast milk.

“These are not risks that are significant at all or existent for adults,” said Daniel Kass, the assistant commissioner for environmental surveillance and policy at the Health Department. “These are really issues for the developing brain and nervous system.”

Mercury is released into the atmosphere largely by coal-fired power plants and by solid-waste incinerators. In the form of methylmercury, it passes into lakes and rivers, where it is absorbed by fish and shellfish.

For years, the State Department of Health has issued warnings about eating fish caught in the Hudson River, because of mercury and other contaminants.

Nationally, said Mr. Kass, research showed that about 10 percent of women of childbearing age had blood mercury levels at or above five micrograms per liter, the threshold considered the low end for potential health risks.
more from the NY Times