1 in 4 NYC adults have elevated mercury

By DEEPTI HAJELA, Associated Press WriterMon Jul 23, 6:26 PM ET
A quarter of adults in the city have elevated levels of mercury in their blood, linked to how much fish they eat, according to survey results released Monday by the health department.
Rates were higher among more affluent residents compared to those in lower income groups and were high among Asians, who eat more fish, the survey showed.
While mercury at the levels found in New Yorkers doesn't really pose a risk for most adults, the city suggested that children under 6 years old and pregnant and breast-feeding women avoid fish with high mercury contents over concerns that it increases the risk of cognitive problems in children.
"It's not bad for the average adult who isn't reproducing," said Daniel Kass, assistant commissioner for environmental surveillance and policy at the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene. "For a brief period of life, during pregnancy, while breast-feeding, it would be best to keep mercury levels down."
The health department released a brochure to inform people about the issue. It tells pregnant and breast-feeding women which types of fish have the lowest mercury counts and can be eaten more often and which should be eaten rarely or not at all.
Pregnant women could eat tilapia, herring or whiting up to five times per week because those fish are very low in mercury, based on an adult serving size of 6 ounces, the health department said. But they should not eat Chilean sea bass, swordfish or fresh tuna, which are too high in mercury, it said.
The mercury information came from the city's Health and Nutrition Examination Survey done in 2004. The survey, modeled on one done by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, is the first one of its kind done by a city, the health department said.
Among the survey's findings:
• New Yorkers in the highest income bracket averaged mercury levels of 3.6 micrograms per liter, compared to 2.4 micrograms per liter in the lowest income group.
• Asian women had mercury levels at 4.1 micrograms per liter; and among foreign-born Chinese women, 66 percent had mercury levels at or above 5 micrograms per liter, the point at which it must be reported to the state for monitoring.
• Among women in the 20-49 age bracket, the average level was 2.64 micrograms per liter, compared to a national average of 0.83 micrograms per liter among women in a similar age group.
Kass highlighted that fish has health benefits and that the city was in no way recommending that people stop eating it. He said the concern was making sure pregnant women had the best information.
"It's so easy to maintain a healthy fish diet without burdening your body with a lot of mercury," he said.
The health department brochure says to avoid fish caught in the East or Hudson rivers or in New York Harbor, which may have other contaminants.
The brochure, available through the city's 311 telephone information hot line, comes in English, Spanish and Chinese. Kass said that since the mercury levels were higher among Chinese women, the health department would be reaching out to groups that work with the Chinese community to make sure the word gets out.
The health department also is planning a study of fish eaten in Asian communities to test them for mercury levels.
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On the Net:
Department of Health and Mental Hygiene: http://www.nyc.gov/health

CDC: Antiques can pose mercury hazard

By MICHAEL HILL, Associated Press WriterTue Jun 19, 7:44 PM ET
Careful with that antique clock. It could pose a mercury hazard. The silvery, skittering, and toxic liquid can be found in some antiques. Mirrors can be backed with mercury and tin; Clock pendulums might be weighted with embedded vials of mercury; and barometers, thermometers and lamps may have mercury in their bases for ballast.
The problem is that mercury in old items can leak, particularly as seals age or when the items are moved, according to a study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Ask Ann Smith, whose heirloom clock's pendulum leaked mercury onto the carpet of her gift store in rural Delhi, N.Y., as a cleaner moved it.
An attempt to vacuum the tiny silver balls off the carpet only made things worse, requiring a hazardous materials team to be dispatched to Parker House Gifts and Accessories last summer.
"I didn't really think it was the hazard that it became," Smith said. "I grew up in the days when you played with the mercury that spilled out of a thermometer and nobody knew it was a problem."
Exposure to high levels of mercury can cause damage to the brain, heart, kidneys, lungs and immune system. Even the few ounces found in some antiques can be dangerous. Aptly nicknamed quicksilver, it's hard to clean up, and can become an inhalation hazard if it vaporizes.
Dr. Wanda Lizak Wells of the New York state Department of Health, co-author of the study, suggests getting professional help if even a few ounces spill from an old barometer.
And never use a vacuum.
"That is one of the worst things that people can do," she said. The mercury can be heated up by the vacuum motor and vaporize. That was the mistake Smith's clock cleaner made at her shop near the Catskill Mountains. The vacuum was discarded as hazardous waste.
The amount of mercury in a fever thermometer, however, can be safely cleaned without expert assistance as long as proper steps are taken, like wearing old clothes and rubber gloves, according to Wells.
The study highlighted five other cases from 2000 through 2006 in New York state, which collects hazardous response data in a way that allowed researchers to identify cases involving antiques.
Among other examples in the report: A house in Long Island was cleared after two cups of mercury spilled onto a carpet from an antique clock that tipped over. Four workers at a New York City antique store were sent to the hospital for evaluation when mercury spilled from an antique clock column. A hazardous materials team was called to clean up more than an ounce of mercury from a Syracuse road after a spill involving an antique lamp.
Researchers said none of the incidents caused acute health problems.
The CDC report noted that about a dozen states restrict the sale of products with mercury. Antiques experts say there are relatively few items that still contain it.
Among those that do are old barometers and thermometers, which account for only a small slice of the market.
Donald R. McLaughlin, a veteran antiques dealer in Ohio and president of the World Antique Dealers Association, said many such pendulum vials broke decades ago.
"There aren't many left," he said. "I rarely see them anymore, and I'm out every day."
Still, researchers urge people to inspect old items containing mercury to make sure the seals are tight. They recommend removing or replacing mercury components when possible, though they warn never to drain the mercury.
When moving a piece containing mercury, researchers suggest placing it in a leak-proof container.