Oct 30, 2007

"The Mercury Connection,"


Newspaper Tests Show High Levels of Mercury in People Near Hot Spots

As part of a three-part series called "The Mercury Connection," The (Charleston, S.C.) Post and Courier identified two areas in South Carolina with high levels of mercury in fish and collected hair samples from people who eat from these waters. Tests showed 17 people had levels higher than a federal safety benchmark and six had levels that rank among the highest tested in nation. The series comes amid a growing debate over a proposal for a new coal-fired power plant near one of the mercury hot spots identified by the newspaper. The series also showed how South Carolina government officials have had advanced equipment to test people with mercury contamination for three years but have only done one test for a member of the public. Tony Bartelme reports Oct. 28-30, 2007.

Read it here:
http://www.charleston.net/news/2007/oct/30/whos_checking20508/