Mercury

Good news: Mercury in lake sediments in the Great Lakes region is declining.  Mercury concentrations in fish and birds of the Great Lakes region have show an overall decline, too from 1967 to 2009.
Mercury concentrations in walleye, largemouth bass, and herring gull eggs from areas within the Great Lakes region.

Bad News: Mercury concentrations have increased in adult loon blood mercury in northern Wisconsin and bald eagles from Voyageurs National Park.

Meanwhile, we still do need to properly dispose of items that contain mercury. 
What could contain mercury?  The following products may contain mercury - thermometers, thermostats, blood-pressure cuffs, fluorescent and HID lamps, auto switches, button-cell batteries, dental amalgam, some imported jewelry, weight/counter weight in grandfather clocks, some oil-based and old latex paints.    Here are the Waste Water Treatment Plant in Superior we do accept mercury items anytime during business hours.  There is no fee to drop them off.   We will even give you a free thermostat if you'd like to thank you for dropping off items.

Pollution can be created locally but some happen on a larger scale - even an international scale - such as for the Great Lakes.  Emissions go where the air takes it.  The fact that mercury bio-accumulates also creates a problem when only low concentrations are present.  The best thing we can do is reduce use of mercury and properly dispose of it.

The information in the top section is from the  Great Lakes Mercury Connections report published by the Biodiversity Research Institute in partnership with the University of Wisconsin-LaCross and Great Lakes Commission.

Posted by Wendy