GLIN==> NEWS RELEASE: Mercury Pollution in the Great Lakes Region -- New Scientific Research Has Important Policy Implications

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 11, 2011

Contacts:
Deborah McKew, BRI, 207-839-7600, deborah.mckew at briloon.org
Christine Manninen, GLC, 734-560-8598, manninen at glc.org
Brad Quarberg, UW-La Crosse, 608-785-8572, bquarberg at uwlax.edu

MERCURY POLLUTION IN THE GREAT LAKES REGION—NEARLY FORGOTTEN, BUT NOT GONE
NEW SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH HAS IMPORTANT POLICY IMPLICATIONS

Detroit, Michigan – The scope and intensity of mercury pollution in the Great Lakes region is
much greater than previously reported, but additional mercury controls should bring needed
improvement, according to a new summary of scientific research on the subject.

Despite general declines in mercury levels in the Great Lakes region over the past four decades,
mercury concentrations still exceed human and ecological risk thresholds, especially in inland
lakes and rivers, according to the report Great Lakes Mercury Connections: The Extent and
Effects of Mercury Pollution in the Great Lakes Region, which summarizes 35 new scientific
papers. Also, new research indicates that for some species of fish and wildlife in particular areas,
mercury concentrations may again be on the rise.

While the risk of elevated mercury concentrations to human health is well known—all of the
Great Lakes states and the province of Ontario have issued fish consumption advisories due to
high mercury—new studies cited in the report suggest that adverse effects of mercury on the
health of fish and wildlife occur at levels much lower than previously reported.

“The good news is that efforts to control mercury pollution have been very beneficial,” says
David C. Evers, Ph.D., executive director and chief scientist at Biodiversity Research Institute,
and the principal investigator in the Great Lakes study. “However, as we broaden our
investigations, we find that fish and wildlife are affected at lower mercury concentrations and
across larger areas, and that impacts can be quite serious. For example, we found that estimated
mercury concentrations in the blood of common loons were above levels that are associated with
at least 22 percent fewer fledged young in large areas of the Great Lakes study region.”

Great Lakes Mercury Connections distills key results from 35 peer-reviewed papers in special
issues of two scientific journals: Ecotoxicology and Environmental Pollution. The report
represents the work of more than 170 scientists, researchers, and resource managers who used
more than 300,000 mercury measurements to document the impact and trends of mercury
pollution on the Great Lakes region.

A collaboration of the Biodiversity Research Institute in Gorham, Maine, the Great Lakes
Commission based in Ann Arbor, Michigan, and the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse, the
project is the product of a binational, scientific synthesis sponsored by the Commission through
its Great Lakes Air Deposition Program, funded by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
(EPA).

“One of our core missions is to support the policymaking process with good science,” says Tim
Eder, executive director of the Great Lakes Commission. “This report represents a wealth of
scientific knowledge developed by some of North America’s leading experts in this field. It
portrays the most accurate and well documented picture yet of the impact of mercury
contamination on the Great Lakes environment.”

The research details how mercury pollution is changing over time. “When we analyzed lake
sediments, we were surprised to see such a strong connection between mercury loadings to the
region and mercury emissions in the region,” says Charles Driscoll, Ph.D., University Professor
of Environmental Systems Engineering at Syracuse University and co-principal investigator on
the project. “We documented a 20 percent decline in sediment mercury deposition from peak
values around 1985. This decline was concurrent with a 48 percent decline in mercury emissions
from sources in the Great Lakes region and a 17 percent increase in global emissions, clearly
illustrating the benefit of controlling domestic emissions. It is likely that additional national and
regional air emission controls would result in further declines in mercury contamination of the
Great Lakes region as well as other areas of the U.S. and Canada.” Among other findings, the
report points out that the northern reaches of the Great Lakes region are particularly sensitive to
mercury and that, despite improvements, fish mercury concentrations remain above the EPA
human health criterion in these sensitive areas.

“The decline in mercury contamination of fishery resources across much of the Great Lakes
region is very welcome news,” says James G. Wiener, Ph.D., Wisconsin Distinguished Professor
at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse, and co-principal investigator in the study. “However,
the fish in many of the region’s inland lakes and rivers exceed important human and
environmental health thresholds. For instance, we looked at six commonly eaten game fish and
found that average mercury concentrations in these fishes exceeded the EPA human health
criterion in 61 percent of the study region.” Dr. Wiener further noted that some long-term
mercury trends appear to be changing. “The observations of recent increases in mercury
concentrations in some fish and wildlife populations in the region is also cause for concern,
because we do not understand why these increases are occurring.”

Atmospheric emissions are the primary source of mercury deposition in the Great Lakes basin;
the report projects that further controls on those emissions “are expected to lower mercury
concentrations in the food web, yielding multiple benefits to fish, wildlife, and people in the
Great Lakes region.”

Great Lakes Mercury Connections is being officially released today in Detroit at the Great Lakes
Commission’s 2011 Annual Meeting, and the opening day of the first-ever “Great Lakes Week”
event. Great Lakes Week is bringing together representatives of the U.S. and Canadian
governments along with public and private groups to focus on finding solutions to the most
pressing environmental and economic challenges facing the lakes.

Great Lakes Mercury Connections and related multimedia materials are available online at:
www.briloon.org/mercuryconnections/GreatLakes.

###

The mission of the Biodiversity Research Institute is to assess emerging threats to wildlife and
ecosystems through collaborative research, and to use scientific findings to advance
environmental awareness and inform decision makers. BRI’s science programs include wetlands,
mammal, raptor, waterfowl, migratory bird, marine bird, coastal bird, wildlife and renewable
energy, and tropical programs. The Institute’s research efforts stretch throughout most of North
and Central America, as well as across sites in South America, Russia, South Africa, and Europe.
For more information visit www.briloon.org.

The Great Lakes Commission, chaired by James Tierney, assistant commissioner for water
resources at the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, is an interstate
compact agency established under state and U.S. federal law and dedicated to promoting a strong
economy, healthy environment, and high quality of life for the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence region
and its residents. The Commission consists of governors’ appointees, state legislators, and
agency officials from its eight member states. Associate membership for Ontario and Québec
was established through the signing of a “Declaration of Partnership.” The Commission
maintains a formal Observer program involving U.S. and Canadian federal agencies, tribal
authorities, binational agencies, and other regional interests. The Commission offices are located
in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Learn more at www.glc.org.

The University of Wisconsin-La Crosse, founded in 1909, is one of 13 comprehensive
educational institutions in the University of Wisconsin System. UW-L has more than 10,000
students enrolled in 43 undergraduate majors, 17 master’s degree offerings and three certificate
programs. The University’s River Studies Center, created in 1972, focuses on research and
informational programs with an emphasis on resources of the Upper Mississippi River basin and
the Great Lakes region. For more information visit www.uwlax.edu/biology/rivercntr/.

Christine Manninen 
Communications / GLIN Director 
www.great-lakes.net 
Great Lakes Commission 
Ann Arbor, Mich. 
Office 734.971.9135 
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