TCU Professor shares information about mercury contamination
Janise Richardson - Contributing Writer
Issue date: 10/27/09 Section: Campus News
Students who seem to love those underwater creatures might want to think twice the next time they order at their favorite seafood restaurant.
Matt Chumchal, associate professor of biology at Texas Christian University discussed in lecture the potential causes and consequences of Mercury (Hg) contamination on Thursday, Oct. 22. The lecture, hosted by The Biological Sciences Department, discussed mercury in the environment, the Texas region, and at Caddo Lake.
Chumchal, along with many collaborators and Texas Parks and Wildlife, studied the affects of mercury contamination for the past several years.
Mercury contamination, according to Chumchal, is one of the most important environmental problems facing the world we live in. There are high levels of mercury in almost every ecosystem around the world, and is found in the Pacific, in the tropics, and remote arctic regions. The United States has a relatively small amount, while Asia has a great amount.
Mercury makes its way into the environment from natural and anthropogenic sources that combine to release inorganic mercury in the atmosphere. Inorganic mercury can suspend in the atmosphere up to two years.
From there, mercury ends up washed through wetlands, reservoirs, and lakes. It can be converted by bacteria into a very toxic form of mercury called Methyl mercury. Mercury is usually found in the water in very low concentrations. These concentrations are so low that you can even drink or swim in it with no harm. It goes through biomagnification, a process that means there is a higher concentration the higher up on the food chain.
Mercury has many known negative affects on humans. It can affect the cardiovascular, immune, and reproductive systems. These are the concentrations that a human would be exposed to when eating fish. It becomes a problem for humans because fish are an important part of the our diet. Pregnant women are at a greater risk from mercury contamination. Those who consume fish or aquatic beings with high mercury concentrations run the risk of harming the fetus.
Matt Chumchal, associate professor of biology at Texas Christian University discussed in lecture the potential causes and consequences of Mercury (Hg) contamination on Thursday, Oct. 22. The lecture, hosted by The Biological Sciences Department, discussed mercury in the environment, the Texas region, and at Caddo Lake.
Chumchal, along with many collaborators and Texas Parks and Wildlife, studied the affects of mercury contamination for the past several years.
Mercury contamination, according to Chumchal, is one of the most important environmental problems facing the world we live in. There are high levels of mercury in almost every ecosystem around the world, and is found in the Pacific, in the tropics, and remote arctic regions. The United States has a relatively small amount, while Asia has a great amount.
Mercury makes its way into the environment from natural and anthropogenic sources that combine to release inorganic mercury in the atmosphere. Inorganic mercury can suspend in the atmosphere up to two years.
From there, mercury ends up washed through wetlands, reservoirs, and lakes. It can be converted by bacteria into a very toxic form of mercury called Methyl mercury. Mercury is usually found in the water in very low concentrations. These concentrations are so low that you can even drink or swim in it with no harm. It goes through biomagnification, a process that means there is a higher concentration the higher up on the food chain.
Mercury has many known negative affects on humans. It can affect the cardiovascular, immune, and reproductive systems. These are the concentrations that a human would be exposed to when eating fish. It becomes a problem for humans because fish are an important part of the our diet. Pregnant women are at a greater risk from mercury contamination. Those who consume fish or aquatic beings with high mercury concentrations run the risk of harming the fetus.
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Peter Locke
posted 12/11/09 @ 12:11 PM CST
Thanks for the info I have been listening to Healthy at 100 by John Robins who mentioned the GotMercury.org in referance to mercury conamination in our fish, so I looked it up. (Continued…)
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