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Environment

High Levels of Mercury in Lake Fish

August 9, 2004 | A version of this story appeared in Volume 82, Issue 32

More than half the fish in 260 freshwater lakes across the U.S. had levels of mercury higher than the limit EPA recommends for consumption by women of childbearing age and small children. That's according to EPA data analyzed by Clear the Air, a coalition of three environmental groups. Clear the Air released a report last week that found all fish samples collected by EPA between 1999 and 2001 contained mercury, and 55% of the samples had levels of the heavy metal that exceeded EPA's limit for women who eat fish twice a week. In addition, the report found that 76% of the fish samples had mercury levels higher than the agency's safe limit for children under three years of age, while 63% of the samples exceeded the limit for children ages three to five. Clear the Air says the report demonstrates the need for deep cuts in mercury emissions from coal-fired power plants. The report is available at http://cta.policy.net/reports/reel_danger/reel _danger_report.pdf.

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