The Mercury Menace

[Guest guest]

http://www.portland.com/mercury/home.html

Mercury - floating through the air from other states and pouring from some

Maine chemical plants - has the potential to harm humans, especially small

children, with blurred vision, loss of hearing, numbness, and kidney

failure. The toxic metal is already threatening the loon, Maine's symbol of

conservation. From Sept. 28 to Oct. 1, 1997, the Maine Sunday Telegram and

Portland Press Herald look into the threat of mercury pollution in Maine -

and everything from the politics of cleaning it up to the health threats

facing Maine's wildlife and residents.

Drew Major, a wildlife biologist, pulls up a gill net in Rangeley Lake to

study mercury levels in fish eaten by loons. Staff photo by A.

Rodgers.

One polluter's story

Maine's largest source of mercury pollution has been an environmental sore

spot for years. Yet, state and federal regulators have done little until

very recently. Meanwhile, the pollution has continued.

What mercury can do to you

Maine residents and tourists alike are virtually unaware of what the state's

fish consumption warnings say, or to whom they apply. The state's effort to

warn people about the dangers of mercury have failed, and criticism is

surfacing.

Politics and Pollution

Coal-burning power plants produce a large amount of the mercury pollution

that plagues Maine and the eastern United States. The federal government

knows how to improve things, but the answers have been blocked by big-money

politics.

A biologist's notes are tucked in the beak of a dead loon at Tufts

University, where the birds are studied. Staff photo by A. Rodgers.

The Mercury Menace

The loon, Maine's symbol of conservation, is being threatened by high and

still rising levels of mercury pollution. But that's not all. People are

threatened too, and the federal and state governments haven't done much

about the situation.

The loon, Maine's symbol of conservation, is being threatened by high and

still rising levels of mercury pollution. But that's not all. People are

threatened too, and the federal and state governments haven't done much

about the situation.

The Mercury Menace

As pollution weakens Maine's beloved loons, a broader alarm sounds.

Biologists fear mercury is silent killer of loons

While it doesn't appear to kill loons outright, some researchers believe

mercury renders the bird vulnerable to disease.

Into the night: Monitoring for mercury

Biologists engage in nighttime forays to capture loons, which are tested for

traces of the toxic metal.

Maine residents and tourists alike are virtually unaware of what the state's

fish consumption warnings say, or to whom they apply. The state's effort to

warn people about the dangers of mercury have failed, and criticism is

surfacing.

Mercury's toxic shadow looms over fish-eaters

hough many remain ignorant, health regulations say children and women of

childbearing age should eat no fish caught in fresh water.

Mercury problem potential poison for tourism

State regulators realize that additional negative publicity could have a

broad economic impact.

Contamination in fish weakens cultural link for Maine tribe

Catching and eating fish is a tradition no longer passed on to many

Penobscot children.

Original content in this site by Lori Haugen, graphics by Kathy Jungjohann,

Guy Gannett New Media. Questions or comments? E-mail us.

Chart: The toxic cycle

Coal-burning power plant produce a large amount of the mercury pollution

that plagues Maine and the eastern United States. The federal government

knows how to improve things, but the answers have been blocked by big-money

politics.

Politics and pollution

The EPA's efforts to curb the toxic metal have been slowed by industry

lobbyists and their allies in Congress.

Congressional delegation slow to respond to mercury threat

Sen. Olympia Snowe initially urged the EPA to withhold a controversial

report that could result in stricter pollution limits.

Waste incinerators 'a major source'

Every year, Maine's Regional Waste Systems plant discharges 300 pounds of

mercury into the air on the outskirts of Portland.

Proposed anti-mercury rules may have minimal effect

Of four incinerators in Maine, only Portland's would be required to cut its

emissions.

Maine's largest source of mercury pollution has been an environmental sore

spot for years. Yet, state and federal regulators have done little until

very recently. Meanwhile, the pollution has continued.

Portrait of a polluter

HoltraChem is Maine's largest source of mercury, but closing it would cost

jobs.

Recharge, recycle to reduce mercury pollution

But involvement by consumers pales in comparison to the need for long-term

controls on power plants and incinerators.

Readers, leaders respond to Portland Newspapers' mercury series

The subject stirs strong feelings among Mainers.

Oct. 2 update: Plant's neighbors cautioned on stream

The DEP decides it's time to let people know the stream draining from

Holtrachem property is polluted and dangerous.

State issues mercury warning

More about Maine industrial pollution

By Dieter Bradbury

Staff Writer

©Copyright 1997 Blethen Maine Newspapers Inc.

ORRINGTON - Neighbors of a chemical plant with extensive mercury

contamination on its site were warned by state officials Wednesday that a

stream near the plant should be considered off-limits to their children and

pets.

The Department of Environmental Protection said the stream draining the site

of the HoltraChem Manufacturing Co. plant on River Road contains high levels

of mercury and corrosive chemicals.

''Because of these conditions, exposure to the stream should be limited,''

the DEP said in a Sept. 30 letter to residents of Ferry Road. ''As a result,

we advise that the area be 'off limits' to children and pets.''

Mercury pollution at the plant was highlighted Wednesday in the Portland

Press Herald, as part of a four-part investigative series, ''The Mercury

Menace.'' The series focused on the mounting environmental threat from

mercury, a toxic metal that has contaminated inland waters in Maine and 34

other states, threatening fish, wildlife and human health.

The new DEP letter was written a day after the Maine Sunday Telegram and

Portland Press Herald raised questions about conditions at HoltraChem during

a meeting at the newspaper's Portland office with DEP Commissioner O.

Sullivan and Gov. Angus King.

Among the topics discussed: The seriousness of stream contamination at

HoltraChem, which uses mercury to make chlorine gas and other chemicals and

is Maine's largest source of mercury released to the environment.

The DEP recently ordered the company to put up a fence to restrict public

access to its property, test nearby wells for contamination and install a

system to collect polluted water from a series of chemical spills.

Work on those projects has yet to begin.

Ferry Road residents interviewed Wednesday said they were puzzled by the new

DEP letter - the second they have received from the agency in four days

about environmental conditions at the plant site.

''We've been here four years and we've never had any concerns,'' said

Phyllis Scribner, a retiree who lives on Ferry Road with her husband,

. ''If this mercury has been a problem, we haven't been aware of

it.''

Pat Judd, another Ferry Road resident, said the letters raise her concerns

about what might be happening at the HoltraChem operation.

''We never heard anything from them until recently,'' she said. ''It does

make you wonder what's going on.''

, also of Ferry Road, said he was struck by the apparent

dangers of the stream because he has a family with two young children.

''Obviously, it's cause for concern,'' said.

Bruce , the president of HoltraChem, said Wednesday that work on the

fence could begin as soon as next week. He said the company has proposed a

collection system for spilled chemicals to the DEP.

That proposal is still undergoing department review.

also questioned the warning about the stream pollution. ''We believe

it's not as serious a problem as the DEP says it is,'' he said.

However, pledged to cooperate with the department to improve the

plant's environmental performance.

In previous interviews, has blamed many of the plant's environmental

problems on a lack of basic maintenance by previous owners. HoltraChem

bought the plant out of bankruptcy in 1994.

The dozen or so households on Ferry Road have received three letters about

hazardous-waste contamination at HoltraChem in the past two months.

The first letter, dated Aug. 7, was sent by HoltraChem at the request of the

DEP. The letter noted that work was being done to build a collection system

for spilled chemicals. But it said the stream was not a threat.

The DEP, in a letter of its own on Sept. 26, mentioned the cleanup and noted

that HoltraChem had agreed to build a fence and test wells for

contamination. But the DEP letter made no mention of the stream pollution.

It wasn't until Wednesday, when the second DEP letter arrived, that

residents learned the stream was highly contaminated.

Sullivan, commissioner of the DEP, said Wednesday the second letter was sent

because the department wanted residents to know why a fence was being

constructed on the HoltraChem property.

''We had hoped that the fence would go up sooner than it has,'' he said.

''We wanted people to know they should keep their kids and pets out of

there.''

The pollution in the stream, which drains into the Penobscot River, has been

known to members of Sullivan's staff since early June.

At that time, during an inspection of the plant site, a DEP staff member who

stuck his hand in the water felt his skin begin to dissolve.

The DEP believes the contamination may be seeping into the stream from an

undergound hazardous-waste leak of up to 270,000 gallons.

As a result of that spill and several others that contained mercury and

other hazardous chemicals, the DEP proposed an $891,000 fine against

HoltraChem in July for assorted violations of state laws.

It was the first serious fine proposed against the company by the DEP since

the plant started operating on the banks of the Penobscot in 1967.

In that time, it has released thousands of pounds of mercury into the air

and water, including an undetermined amount in leaks from five unlined

landfills. They contain an estimated 13 tons of mercury in buried sludge.

The company has refused a request from the DEP to abandon the use of mercury

and switch to a more environmentally friendly manufacturing process.

The DEP is presently testing fish from several lakes and ponds downwind of

the plant to determine if it is raising mercury levels in the environment.

Sullivan said that data may be used to determine whether the state should

set more stringent mercury emissions standards for the plant.

Original content in this site by Lori Haugen, graphics by Kathy Jungjohann,

Guy Gannett New Media. Questions or comments? E-mail us.