Mercury

Real People, Real Stories

Toxic mercury is affecting real people. Read their stories and get involved! Read their stories...

Laura, 28, Miami, FL: "I was tested for mercury last summer. My levels were 1.51, well above the amount the EPA considers unsafe. I ate fish often, but I never expected to see levels that high. I felt angry. My husband and I want to have a baby, but we've decided to wait so my body can get rid of the poison. I'm sad our government would turn their back on such an alarming problem."

For your wallet: The Sierra Club's Mercury Survival Guide

The government advises women who may become pregnant, pregnant women, nursing mothers, and young children to eat smart to reduce mercury. Get our handy guide.

Download The Sierra Club's CFL Guidelines

Many chapters and groups of the Sierra Club plan to or have engaged in community-based programs to distribute energy-efficient lightbulbs. This spring, Club activists will be giving away CFLs across the country. Here are guidelines for selecting, distributing, and recycling environmentally-preferable lightbulbs during mass giveaways. (PDF)

Coal-fired Power Plants and Mercury Pollution

Coal-fired power plants are one of the largest sources of mercury pollution in the U.S. In addition to mercury, using coal for electricity scars lungs, tears up the land, pollutes water, devastates communities, and makes global warming worse. Learn about coal's dirty secrets that have serious societal and economic consequences in our brand new report, "The Dirty Truth about Coal: Why Yesterday's Technology Should Not Be Part of Tomorrow's Energy Future. Read the report. (PDF)

Mercury hurts wildlife, too

Already know about how mercury can harm humans? Now there is new evidence showing that these same problems and others are affecting our nation's wildlife, and at an alarming rate. Read more about the dangers of mercury pollution for animals like songbirds, the Florida panther, whales, and even the bald eagle. (PDF)

Green News You Can Use: Mercury Rising

Hear how mercury gets into your body (mp3) and what you can do about it. Though the federal government is currently doing little to protect you from the toxic health effects of mercury contamination, there are simple steps you can take yourself to significantly lower the amount of mercury in your body.

The Mercury Cycle: From Smokestacks to the Dinnertable

When coal is burned at power plants, it releases mercury into our atmosphere. This mercury falls to earth in rain, running into our lakes, rivers and streams. Bacteria in the water transform this mercury into toxic methyl-mercury. The diagram below shows how toxic mercury from coal-burning power plants gets into our food supply: