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Des
Plaines Fish and Wildlife Area (IL-DNR)
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| ISSUES
Conservation Concerns in
Illinois: Mercury
Mercury
is a naturally occurring substance, but it is also a pollutant released
when coal is burned for power generation. Methylmercury is a form of
mercury that is highly toxic and has resulted in documented harm to
people and to wildlife. Consuming fish from waters contaminated with
methylmercury constitutes a health risk for pregnant women and children
before and after birth.
The brains of unborn children are
especially susceptible to damage from methylmercury exposure, since
methylmercury readily crosses the placenta from mother to child and is
found in higher concentrations in umbilical cord blood than in the
mother's circulatory system. Methylmercury inhibits brain cell
division, resulting in abnormal brain development. In Illinois, as of
2011, there are special mercury fish consumption advisories for 26
inland streams, rivers and lakes. The advisories caution pregnant or
nursing women, women of childbearing age, and children under 15 to
limit consumption of fish such as various bass species, walleye,
flathead catfish, muskellunge, and northern pike.
About 5,500
tons of elemental mercury are released into the global environment each
year. Nearly three-fourths of the emissions come from man-made sources,
including coal-fired power plants. Sixty percent of the mercury
released within the U.S. originates from domestic sources, while the
remainder is blown in from foreign sources. Illinois and the other
Great Lakes states account for 29 percent of U.S. population, but 36
percent of estimated mercury emissions from electricity generating
plants.
The Clean Air Act requires regulation of mercury
emissions as hazardous air pollutants. Mercury emissions from municipal
and medical waste incinerators have been reduced dramatically since
1990. While a number of electric utilities have called for additional
delays in setting mercury emissions limits, some, including
Chicago-based Exelon, have called for their implementation as
expeditiously as possible. In comments filed with the Environmental
Protection Agency on August 4, 2011, Exelon said mercury limits "will
encourage investment in a clean, modern efficient generation fleet,
thus promoting long-term economic health for both the electric industry
and the nation as a whole."
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