Senator Collins Urges Congress to Pass Mercury Monitoring Legislation

Press Release

SENATOR COLLINS URGES CONGRESS TO PASS MERCURY MONITORING LEGISLATION

In an event with US Senator Susan Collins, the BioDiversity Research Institute (BRI) and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service this week released new findings on mercury in a songbird that inhabits New England's estuaries and national wildlife refuges. The songbird - the saltmarsh sharp-tailed sparrow - is listed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service as a "bird of conservation concern". BRI scientists found elevated mercury in these insect-eating sparrows along with evidence that fewer chicks survive in birds with higher mercury levels.

The new findings demonstrate that mercury contamination is not limited to freshwater lakes or to species that eat fish. Ms. Oksana Lane is a biologist with the BioDiversity Research Institute and a lead author of the study. She noted, "We were surprised to find such elevated mercury in the sparrows we sampled in national wildlife refuges set aside to protect birds and other sensitive animals."

The saltmarsh sharp-tailed sparrow is an important indicator species for examining the impacts of mercury because approximately 95 percent of the global population breeds in the Northeast. Therefore contamination issues in New England breeding grounds could pose a serious threat to the long-term health of the sparrow's population. Dr. David Evers, executive director of BRI and a co-author of the study commented on the implications of the new research, "These findings raise concerns about the long-term health of birds with limited ranges that accumulate mercury in their bloodstreams while breeding in New England. To my mind, the findings prompt the question of whether setting aside land as ‘refuges' goes far enough to protect sensitive wildlife given that pollution doesn't respect boundary lines."

In response to the new scientific study, Senator Collins called for the U.S. Congress to stop stalling and to pass the National Mercury Monitoring Establishment Act, which she introduced last March together with Senators Hillary Clinton (D-NY) and Joseph Lieberman (I-D-CT).

According to Senator Collins, "These new findings of dangerous mercury levels in New England's saltmarsh sharp-tailed sparrows add to the compelling evidence that we need a comprehensive mercury monitoring network. Each new scientific study seems to find higher levels of mercury in more ecosystems and in more species than we had previously thought. We must have more comprehensive information and we must have it soon, otherwise we risk implementing misguided policies."

Senator Collins expressed her renewed commitment to tracking mercury pollution. "These research findings make clear to me that we must provide better data to protect the people and environment of Maine," she said.

These new results were published in a BRI and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service report entitled, Methylmercury Availability in New England Estuaries as Indicated by Saltmarsh Sharp-tailed Sparrow, 2004-2006. To conduct the study the BRI team captured over 220 individual birds from 11 sites across four states, including four national wildlife refuges (NWR): the Rachel Carson NWR in Kennebunk, Maine; the Parker River NWR on Plum Island, Massachusetts; the Stewart B. McKinney NWR in Westport, Connecticut; and the Ningret Chafee NWR in Narragansett, Rhode Island.

The researchers drew a small amount of blood from each bird and then tested it for mercury. Nearly all of the birds tested had elevated mercury levels with some as high as 3.2 parts per million -- well above the concentration believed to cause adverse effects in songbirds and the levels typically measured in common loons and bald eagles. In general, mercury concentrations were highest at the Parker River NWR, which is in proximity to several major pollution sources. However, even sparrows from the Rachel Carson National NWR, which is furthest from active mercury pollution sources, had elevated mercury levels.

At this week's event Dr. Evers said, "If she were among us today, my guess is that Rachel Carson would be shocked at the continued contamination of our environment - and of the refuge that bears her name. Not only are large amounts of toxic mercury still released into our ecosystems, but the federal government has yet to put a system in place that will track where the mercury pollution is going, what impact it's having, and what difference public policies are making. Regardless of politics in this state and elsewhere, this gap must be addressed."

The event was held at The Wells National Estuarine Research Reserve in Wells, Maine which encompasses part of the Rachel Carson National Wildlife Refuge where some of the research was conducted. The research was funded by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and Maine Department of Environmental Protection.

BioDiversity Research Institute is a nonprofit ecological research group in Gorham, Maine, dedicated to progressive environmental study and education that furthers global sustainability and conservation policies. Established in 1998, BRI conducts projects in 21 states and provinces throughout the U.S. and Canada, and in Mexico and Belize.

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