Mercury in Lake Wissota and Wisconsin's Lakes & River Systems

ABSTRACT

INTRODUCTION

BACKGROUND

LOCAL HAZARDS?

EFFECTS ON WILDLIFE

EFFECTS ON HUMANS

EFFECTS OF MERCURY ON HUMANS 

Mercury poses a health risk to people who frequently consume contaminated fish.  Over time as individuals consume mercury contaminated fish, mercury builds up and eventually reaches a level where it starts affecting the body.  Pregnant mothers and children under the age of 15 are most vulnerable to mercury contamination. 

The central nervous system can be affected by the consumption of mercury contaminated fish.  It can damage developing brains and lead to a dysfunction in a child’s behavior and also his/her ability to learn.

Some symptoms of mercury contamination in adults may include: 

• sleep disturbances
• irritability
• memory loss
• behavior changes
• parasthesia
• blurred vision
• speech difficulties
• deafness

Symptoms in children may include: 

• impaired dexterity
• impaired fine motor skills
• impaired verbal memory
• delayed development

Infants born of women who ingested mercury have shown to exhibit effects such as:

• mental retardation
• deafness
• blindness
• cerebral palsy 

REDUCING EXPOSURE

 If a person wants to continue eating fish caught in Wisconsin lakes and rivers, he/she must change his/her fish eating habits to fit the standards of the DNR statewide safe eating guidelines.  The main thing one should do is follow the statewide safe eating guidelines.  The guidelines state how much fish a person is safely allowed to eat over a specified length of time, generally as number of meals per week or month.  Also, instead of eating larger predatory fish like wallyes, a person could eat smaller fish like perch, crappies, or bluegills.  The smaller fish contain less mercury than the larger fish and are safer to eat than the larger fish.