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"THE ONLY THING NECESSARY FOR THE TRIUMPH OF EVIL IS FOR GOOD MEN TO DO NOTHING"
--Burke

Saturday, September 29, 2007

Utah man poisoned from eating local fish says, "What do we do about it?"

Grim fish tale: Was mercury to blame for man's illness? By Judy Fahys The Salt Lake Tribune Salt Lake Tribune Article Last Updated:09/29/2007 12:16:43 PM MDT   Posted: 12:19 PM- Few things in life pleased Kayo Robertson more than sitting down to a meal of crappie he had plucked from a reservoir near his home in Cache County.[Utah].... Then the Smithfield man found out those scrumptious dinners might very well be making him sick, polluting his body with toxic mercury. For about five years, Robertson had suffered from what he thought might be gout or old age. His feet hurt. His arms would get numb at night. His joints ached. His hands cramped. He felt tired all the time. "I've never gotten old before," said the semi-retired educator, an active 59-year-old, "so I presumed this was what it was like."  But, while researching his symptoms, he formed a hunch. He caught five fish and sent them to a nationally recognized mercury-testing laboratory. He sent in a hair sample, too. The tests showed that not only were methylmercury levels high in the fish, but there was way more mercury in him than the U.S. Food and Drug Administration considers safe.".... But Robertson says he refuses to despair and feels more determined now.....  "We don't have this information out there," he said. "Why don't we have it out? ..... that's not right." He's not the only one who "can't drink the water, can't breathe the air and can't eat the fish" because of pollution, he said. And he hopes that he can inspire others disgusted with the status quo to transform their concern into action. "The next question," he said, "is, now, what do we do about it?"

[that is a good question for people along the Frontera facing the legacy of Asarco poison]
http://www.sltrib.com/news/ci_7038749

1 comment:

Mel said...

There are alot of campaigns out there trying to reduce mercury emissions to lower the content of methylmercury in fish and also to warn people about the risk of mercury poisoning. Check out this website
to see what you can do to help.