Swordfish is cut into smaller pieces for shipment but nowhere in the
process are consumers told that the species tends to have higher
levels of mercury than other fish.
California sues grocers over mercury in fish
State wants warnings for swordfish, tuna and shark
Jan.
22 — A
lawsuit by California’s attorney general over mercury in seafood has
activists hoping that other states will also do more to warn consumers about
the health risks of certain fish. California is suing five major grocery
chains, demanding they warn customers that tuna, swordfish and shark often
contain mercury in higher amounts than other fish.
“GENERALLY,
FISH are an important source of protein,” Attorney General Bill Lockyer said
in filing the lawsuit last Friday. “But consumers deserve to know when they
are being exposed to chemicals that can cause cancer, birth defects and
reproductive harm.”
The five chains are Safeway, Kroger, Albertsons, Trader Joe’s and
Whole Foods. It’s possible other defendants could be added, Lockyer
spokesman Tom Dresslar told MSNBC.com.
The suit asks the court to prohibit the stores from selling the fish
until they post a mercury warning. The complaint does not cover canned tuna.
Lockyer said the grocers violated Proposition 65, a state ballot
initiative passed in 1986 that requires businesses to provide “clear and
reasonable” warnings before exposing people to known carcinogens and
reproductive toxins.
The suit does not stipulate a type of warning, such as on packaging
or at a fish counter. Dresslar said that would be decided by a court or a
possible out-of-court settlement. In any case, he added, “it would not be a
sign posted on a bulletin board at the entrance to a store where you also
have ‘room for rent’ signs.”
The defendants could also face millions in civil penalties. Under
Proposition 65 and the state’s Unfair Competition Act, each defendant is
liable for civil penalties of up to $2,500 per day for each violation.
SIGN AT FISH COUNTERS?
Dresslar stressed, however, that a warning system, not monetary
fines, is the “main objective” and that the state was talking to the grocers
to try to reach a mutually agreed resolution.
The California Grocers Association said it hoped to broker a deal as
early as Friday. “We’re working with the attorney general’s office on
proposed signage,” said spokesman Dave Heylen. The proposal would have
signage at fish counters and identify swordfish, shark and tuna as species
of concern.
Heylen said that if the state and the association can agree on
signage, the association would then take the proposal to its members.
Besides nature's own emissions, humans
release mercury as well, mostly via the air and eventually into
water where fish absorb particles.
Coal-fired utilities
Power plants that use coal to produce electricity are the largest
single source of U.S. mercury emissions at about one third of the
total.
The EPA estimates up to 15 percent of mercury emissions from
these utilities fall within 30 miles of a plant, and up to 50
percent falls within 600 miles.
Technology to significantly reduce emissions, the EPA estimates,
would cost $1.8 billion a year for the industry, and eventually
consumers. That’s 0.5% of the industry’s annual revenue of $400
billion.
Other commercial sources
After coal-fired utilities, the biggest mercury sources are
commercial heating boilers powered by coal (nearly 20 percent), city
waste incinerators (nearly 20 percent) and medical waste
incinerators (10 percent).
Humans
Scientists still debate the amount of exposure required to harm a
child’s development, but most agree kidney and/or brain damage can
be done to unborn babies, infants and young children who consume
fish poisoned by mercury.
The EPA notes that some Americans, often families from lower
income groups, are eating fish with mercury levels 10 times higher
than what’s advised for humans.
Because mercury is also a natural element often found in soil and
water, scientists have been unable to be specific about how
significant manmade emissions are.
Wildlife
Mercury’s main path into the food chain is via fish, since they pick
it up as it falls into lakes, streams and coastal areas. As a
result, the vast majority of states have issued fishing advisories
because of mercury levels. Connecticut, Indiana, Maine,
Massachusetts, Michigan, New Hampshire, New Jersey, North Carolina,
Ohio, and Vermont have issued advisories for all freshwater bodies
in their states. Five Gulf Coast states (Alabama, Florida,
Louisiana, Mississippi, and Texas) have had statewide mercury
advisories for their coastal marine waters.
Even if mercury emissions ceased, it would still take decades for
levels in fish and other wildlife to disappear.
A 1997 EPA report to Congress identified the mink, river otter,
kingfisher, loon, osprey and bald eagle as examples of species with
increased risk of mercury poisoning because they feed on fish.
Lockyer’s
office said the lawsuit was not intended to discourage people from eating
fish, but to ensure that consumers can make informed decisions about what to
eat.
Studies in recent years have indicated a health risk associated with
fish species, particularly swordfish and shark, that have high levels of
methylmercury, a form of mercury ingested by fish as they eat other marine
life.
The mercury gets deposited into water after being released into the
air from power plants and other industries. Fish species higher up the food
chain tend to have higher methylmercury levels since many consume smaller
fish.
In March 2001, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration advised pregnant
women, and women of child-bearing age who may become pregnant, not to eat
swordfish or shark because of that risk.
Those women are also advised to eat no more than an average of 12
ounces of fish per week. A typical serving size of fish is 3 to 6 ounces.
The primary reproductive danger posed by methylmercury is to the
nervous system of the fetus, according to the FDA.
In California, methylmercury is listed as a cancer-causing substance.
Studies have suggested it affects the brain and nervous system, can cause
behavioral problems and lower intelligence in children, and has been linked
in recent studies to impairments of immune and reproductive systems and
cardiovascular disease.
ACTIVISTS TESTED FISH
The lawsuit followed laboratory tests taken on behalf of two
California groups, the Turtle Island Restoration Network and As You Sow.
The groups sampled fresh swordfish and tuna from markets run by the
five supermarket chains. They also sampled fish from Costco and Red Lobster,
a national restaurant chain.
The swordfish samples “revealed dangerously high levels of
methylmercury,” the groups said, while the tuna “showed dangerous levels ...
though lower than that found in swordfish.”
Swordfish levels at the markets were two to three times higher than
that recommended by the World Health Organization, said Doug Israel, project
director at the Turtle Island Restoration Network.
Israel was surprised that the grocers association was working on
signage at fish counters and called it a “great” solution if association
members buy in.
The network’s involvement is tied to its campaign against
swordfishing practices that accidentally trap endangered leatherback sea
turtles in the fish lines.
FEDERAL, STATE ACTIONS
Israel noted that Proposition 65 gives California a unique tool to
require a health warning, whereas other states leave that type of action to
the FDA.
“Unfortunately,” he added, “the Food and Drug Administration, and the
Bush administration in general, has shown itself to be beholden to special
interests, and they have dragged their feet on this issue for too long.”
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The groups don’t expect states to adopt their own Proposition 65, but
they are hoping California’s action will encourage more state health
agencies to alert hospitals and doctors about the risks.
In any case, Israel said the groups would still move forward with
their own lawsuit if an agreement isn’t worked out. Red Lobster, in
particular, was singled out by the testing, Israel said, with its samples
showing three to four times the World Health Organization recommendation.
NBC reports on mercury risks
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"A foolish faith in authority is the worst enemy of truth."
-- Albert Einstein, letter to a friend, 1901
"I know of no safe depository of the ultimate powers of the society but the people themselves, and if we think them not enlightened enough to exercise control with a wholesome discretion, the remedy is not to take it from them, but to inform their discretion by education."
-- Thomas Jefferson, letter to William C. Jarvis, September 28, 1820
"What's the point of vaccination if it doesn't protect you from the unvaccinated?"
-- Sandy Gottstein
"Who gets to decide what the greater good is and how many will be sacrificed to it?"
62%
NBC reports on mercury risks
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