Mercury, which damages young brains, is flowing through industrial wastewater into the Ohio River. But the multi-state agency tasked with keeping the waterway clean hasn’t tightened controls on this pollution because it doesn’t have the authority to do so.  Read the article written by Jeff Brooks-Gillies from Environmental Health News.

Speciation of mercury forms at a coal-fired power plant
wastewater discharge and in ambient river samples (Reash, 2019). The study indicated that the amount of mercury considered “bioavailable” was relatively low (< 20%) providing an opportunity to derive less stringent wastewater discharge mercury limitations.

In 2003 Rob was invited to attend a symposium – along with other leading scientists – to predict what environmental changes would occur when emissions of mercury from man-made activities would be reduced.  The symposium was sponsored by the Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry.  The resulting book indicated that there would be worldwide environmental benefits to such reductions, as mercury in the air travels between continents.