Vacated Mercury Mines Taint Calif. Waters ( 100,000 people)

[ensho]

http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2009/09/20-0


Abandoned mercury mines throughout central California's rugged coastal mountains are polluting the state's major waterways, rendering fish unsafe to eat and risking the health of at least 100,000 impoverished people.

But an Associated Press investigation found that the federal government has tried to clean up fewer than a dozen of the hundreds of mines - and most cleanups have failed to stem the contamination.

Although the mining ceased decades ago, records and interviews show the vast majority of sites have not even been studied to assess the pollution, let alone been touched.

While millions live in the affected delta region, the pollution disproportionately hurts the poor and immigrants who rely on local fish as part of their diet, according to a study conducted by University of California at Davis ecologist Fraser Shilling. His research found that 100,000 people, which he calls a conservative estimate, regularly eat tainted fish at levels deemed unsafe by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

-snip-

Near a derelict mine in this California ghost town, the water bubbling in a stream runs Day-Glo orange and is devoid of life, carrying mercury toward a wildlife refuge and a popular fishing spot.

Other mercury mines are the biggest sources of the pollution in San Francisco Bay and the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta, the largest estuary on the Pacific Coast.

-snip-

Mercury from mine waste travels up the food chain through bacteria, which converts it to methylmercury - a potent toxin that can permanently damage the brain and nervous system, especially in fetuses and children.
-long snip-
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stupidy causing more stupidy.

what will happen when stupidy is the marjority? and its going to happen not just because of mercury. lots of other toxins are also causing stupity (mental disabilities)

[liberal N proud]

1. When stupid is the majority...

I think we have seen a taste of what that will be like. The tea baggers rally and the town hall meetings should be good example.

[ensho]

2. kicking back to pg. 1 because this is important - a health problem

nt

[Joe Fields]

3. we've known for years that the EPA Superfund was so underfunded

that approximately 80 percent of the sites identified as needing massive cleanup efforts are just being left. No money to clean them up.