Iowa faulted on mercury warnings By PERRY BEEMAN <mailto:[log in to unmask]: Iowa faulted on mercury warnings> Register Staff Writer 01/14/2004 Iowa is one of few states - and the only one in the Midwest - that don't routinely warn residents about health-threatening mercury in fish they catch in local lakes and rivers, the Sierra Club will report today. Iowa environmental officials said Tuesday that in coming months they probably would issue at least general mercury warnings. The state hasn't issued statewide or local mercury warnings in recent years, even though about one of 25 sites checked each year violates U.S. Environmental Protection Agency guidelines, said John Olson of the Iowa Department of Natural Resources. All but five states issue mercury advisories statewide or for certain lakes or rivers, reported the Sierra Club, a national group that advocates for environmental protection. Olson and colleagues are joining with state health workers to consider tighter standards. Iowa uses old guidelines from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, intended to protect the fish supplies in markets. Many states are using the tougher EPA guidelines, which are designed for fish caught in the wild and eaten, uninspected. Bill Dearden, 64, owner of Polk City Bait and Tackle, said of mercury poisoning, "I've heard of it, but I didn't know it was a problem around here." If there were evidence of a problem, Dearden said, he'd think twice about eating the fish or serving it to women or children. "I hope it never comes to that, because I make my living selling big fishing products," Dearden said. The Sierra Club's Midwest office, in Madison, Wis., plans to issue a report today that questions why Iowa doesn't warn consumers about potentially health-threatening mercury in the bass, walleye and other predatory game fish from Iowa waters. "Studies of human exposure to mercury show that infants, and children under the age of 14, are at the greatest risk from mercury's dangerous neurodevelopmental effects," the Sierra Club said. "In addition to being smaller than adults, their brains, nervous systems and bodies are still developing and growing. When exposed to even small levels of mercury in utero or during their developing years, children can suffer emotional, intellectual, and physical impairments for the rest of their lives." Emissions from coal-fired power plants - which are common in Iowa - are the biggest source of mercury in waterways, the federal government reports. Eating contaminated fish is the most common way of getting mercury poisoning, the EPA reported. Federal law doesn't require states to warn consumers. Iowa tests fish tissue in up to 25 waterways a year - because the federal government will pay for that many tests, said Marion Conover, a state fisheries official. States have used all kinds of policies in deciding whether to issue advisories, said the DNR's Olson. "States are faced with the contradiction of having a very good, nutritious food source and the possibility of contamination," he said. Eric Uram of the Sierra Club's Midwest office said Iowa's warning system is "unacceptable." Fishing is popular in the state - 471,000 people logged 7 million fishing days in 2001, the club says - and many people eat the fish. Bass and walleye tend to harbor the most mercury. Tarah Heinzen Sierra Club Conservation Organizer 3839 Merle Hay Road, Suite 280 Des Moines, IA 50310 (515) 251-3995 [log in to unmask] - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - To view the Sierra Club List Terms & Conditions, see: http://www.sierraclub.org/lists/terms.asp