BREAKING NEWS:
The Impact of Mercury in New York State is Focus of Special Issue of Ecotoxicology
A series of multi-year scientific studies that assessed the impact of mercury on air, water, fish and wildlife in New York State has been published in the journal Ecotoxicology, an international journal devoted to presenting critical research on the effects of toxic chemicals on populations, communities and terrestrial, freshwater and marine ecosystems.
This scientific collaboration, funded by the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) in 2018 through its Environmental Research Program, has resulted in 22 papers published in the Ecotoxicology’s December 2020 issue as well as two separate papers that were published in the October 2020 issue, which specifically focused on mercury in songbirds.
Click here to see the full press release.
The Ecotoxicology special issue (Vol. 29, Issue 10, October 2020) is now online and can be found HERE.
~~~
The Extent and Effects of Mercury Pollution in New York State
In 1969, New York State was at the forefront of the burgeoning environmental movement. This year, 2019, marks the 50th anniversary of mercury monitoring in the State. To inform policy efforts and to advance public understanding, the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) sponsored a scientific synthesis of information on mercury in air, water, fish, and wildlife.
As a result of this collaboration, 26 papers have been submitted for publication in a special issue of the journal Ecotoxicology, and are summarized for use by decision makers and the public in our new publication, New York State Mercury Connections.
New York State enjoys an abundance of natural resources, from extensive forested areas—including the Adirondack and Catskill Mountains, and the Allegany Plateau—to important aquatic and fisheries resources. New York’s aquatic assets include portions of two Great Lakes, hundreds of inland lakes, and significant marine coastal areas. Many habitats and, ultimately, ecosystems in New York State are sensitive to mercury input, which can enhance transport, methylation, and exposure to fish, wildlife, and humans.
In 2018, NYSERDA sponsored a scientific synthesis of information on mercury in air, water, fish and wildlife, bringing together over 80 individual researchers from 10 different institutions, representing academia, NGO's, and government agencies. The culmination of this synthesis is the planned publication of a special issue of Ecotoxicology featuring topical papers focused on spaciotemporal patterns of mercury in New York and risk to ecosystem and human health (currently, 26 papers have been submitted for peer-review).
Five major findings emerge from the results of the scientific synthesis of mercury in New York State:
1. New York State features natural areas that are ecologically, culturally, and economically significant but widely contaminated with mercury largely due to atmospheric emissions and deposition.
2. The scope and intensity of the impact of mercury on fish and wildlife in New York State is much greater than previously recognized. Mercury concentrations exceed human and ecological risk thresholds in many areas, particularly in inland waters.
3. The Adirondacks, Catskills, and parts of Long Island are sensitive to mercury pollution. The impact of mercury emissions and deposition is exacerbated by landscape characteristics. Abundant forests facilitate mercury deposition. Wetlands enhance transport, methylation, and uptake leading to elevated concentrations in aquatic and terrestrial food webs.
4. Mercury concentrations in the environment of New York State have declined over the last four decades, concurrent with decreased air emissions from regional and U.S. sources. After initial declines, however, concentrations of mercury in some fishes and birds from certain locations have stabilized or even increased in recent years—revealing how trajectories of mercury recovery can be complex.
5. While the timing and magnitude of the response will vary, further controls on mercury emission sources are expected to continue to lower mercury concentrations in the food web yielding multiple benefits to fish, wildlife, and people of New York State. It is anticipated that improvements will be greatest for inland lakes and will be roughly proportional to declines in mercury deposition.
Efforts to advance recovery from mercury pollution in New York State in recent years have yielded significant progress, but have yet to address the full scope of the problem. The findings from this scientific synthesis indicate that: (1) mercury remains a pollutant of major concern; (2) the extent and intensity of the contamination is greater than previously recognized; and (3) after decades of declining mercury emissions, trends in mercury concentrations in fish and wildlife have stabilized or are increasing in some species in particular areas.
While the reasons behind these shifting trends require further study, they also underscore the need to continue and even expand existing monitoring efforts by NYSERDA and other entities to better track progress. This is particularly important as new pollution mitigation measures are implemented, as global sources increase, and as the region faces changing environmental conditions.
In May 2019, BRI and collaborators from Syracuse University and SUNY-ESF presented findings from the New York State Mercury Connections synthesis during briefings to the EPA as well as Senate and House legislators in Washington D.C. These briefings will help to inform policymakers' decisions regarding a proposed rollback of the Mercury Air Toxics Standards rule, a policy change which could result in lifting limits on mercury emissions. To learn more, download the full Mercury Connections summary booklet, and read our collaborative comment letter and science brief regarding the proposed MATS rollback below.
New York State Mercury Connections
MATS Comment Letter to the EPA
Mercury Matters 2018: A Science Brief for Journalists and Policymakers
IRIS Methylmercury Reference Dose Comment Letter
Above: Molly Taylor, Nick Fisher, and David Evers are ready for briefings in Washington, D.C., June 18, 2019.
Science Communicaitons:
New York State Mercury Connections: the Extent and Effects of Mercury Pollution in the State
Primary Literature:
The Ecotoxicology special issue (Vol. 29, Issue 10, October 2020) is now online and can be found HERE.
Biodiversity Research Institute
Evan Adams, Mark Burton, Chris DeSorbo, David Evers, Julia Gulka, Oksana Lane, Amy Sauer
NYSERDA
Diane Bertok
Adirondack Center for Loon Conservation
Valerie Buxton, Nina Schoch
Finger Lakes Institute at Hobart and William Smith Colleges
Lisa Cleckner
Harvard University
Marie Perkins
New York Department of Conservation
Wayne Richter
Syracuse University
Charles Driscoll, Geoffrey Millard
State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry
Huiting Mao, Roxanne Razavi, Yang Yang
Stony Brook University
Nicholas Fisher
U.S. Geological Survey
Douglas Burns, Karen Riva Murray