News Coverage
Mercury-in-fish issue airing at city restaurant
Published August 27, 2003
Fish lovers might want to change their diet.
That is, if they heed the warnings issued by the New England Zero Mercury Campaign, which launches a public education campaign this week.
Locally, the campaign was to release the results today of a recent survey that shows many New Englanders are unaware of health problems which might result from eating certain fish. A news conference is scheduled for 11 a.m. today at the Green Street Cafe.
Green Street is the first restaurant in the state to voluntarily post a mercury-contamination advisory.
According to Elizabeth Saunders, Zero Mercury Campaign coordinator, about a third of the 1,400 people surveyed randomly by telephone did not know that the federal government advises people to limit the consumption of certain fish likely to be contaminated with mercury.
Even fewer knew that mercury in shark, swordfish, king mackerel, tuna steak and even canned tuna can cause developmental problems in fetuses and infants if consumed by mothers before or during pregnancy, Saunders said.
"What this says to us is that the Department of Public Health has put out a warning, but that a large amount of consumers don't know about this," she said.
The New England Zero Mercury Campaign, a part of the Washington, D.C.-based Clean Water Action, wants the Massachusetts Department of Public Health to be more aggressive and require all restaurants, grocery stores and markets in the state that sell fish to post mercury-contamination advisories, Saunders said.
The Zero Mercury Campaign is also hopeful that legislation designed to phase out the use of mercury will be soon be signed into law by the state Legislature, she said.
John Sielski, co-owner of the Green Street Cafe, said that his restaurant agreed to post the advisory even though it does not serve any of the fish listed by the DPH as being hazardous. He said that he volunteered to post the advisory in his restaurant to help raise public awareness about mercury contamination.
As a food lover, he said, "When we found out that fish we thought were healthy and good weren't, we were very distressed."
Mercury is released into the environment by coal-burning power plants, the incineration of household items like fluorescent light bulbs, and even the disposal of old fillings at the dentist's office, Saunders said. From there it makes its way into all types of fish. Larger fish near the top of the food chain are more likely than others to be seriously contaminated, Saunders said.The U.S. Food and Drug Administration on its Web site advises pregnant women, women of childbearing age, nursing mothers and young children to avoid eating those fish, especially shark, swordfish, king mackerel and tilefish.
A potent neurotoxin, mercury can damage the nervous system and brain of developing fetuses, Saunders said, citing studies by the Environmental Working Group and the Mercury Policy Project.
This damage can lead to physical impairment, memory loss and learning disabilities, she said. Mercury consumption may also cause cardiovascular problems in adults, Saunders said.
It can take years for the mercury buildup in a human body to be flushed out, Saunders said. This is why the Zero Mercury Campaign advises all women of childbearing age to limit their consumption of fish on the hazardous list. Even if they give up fish when they become pregnant, women can still pass mercury on to their unborn children, Saunders said.
In addition to the Green Street Cafe, Wild Oats grocery stores in eastern Massachusetts, as well as the Harvest Co-op markets in Boston and Cambridge, have agreed to post the advisories. Another press conference was to be held at the Harvest Co-op in Cambridge Thursday.