Don't Eat US Fish

"Scientists have detected mercury contamination in every one of hundreds of fish sampled from 291 freshwater streams, according to a U.S. government study"

"More than a quarter of those fish contained concentrations of mercury exceeding levels set by the Environmental Protection Agency"

"study shows just how widespread mercury pollution has become"

"The neurotoxin enters the environment chiefly as an air pollutant spewed into the atmosphere by industrial emissions [e.g. coal-fired power plants], then falls back to the surface in precipitation and particulate matter carried over long distances."

"USGS hydrologist Barbara Scudder said those characteristics somehow enhance the conversion of mercury from its inorganic form in the atmosphere to a more toxic organic form, methylmercury, which accounts for at least 95 percent of the mercury found in fish."

[And for the humours kicker at the end... --MJ]

"The EPA said this year that it intends to issue new rules under the Clean Air Act to control air emissions of mercury from coal-fired power plants."

full story Steve Gorman: Mercury-tainted fish found widely in U.S. streams