Utah to study mercury in fish

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Utah officials are gearing up for a major study of mercury levels in the state's fish.

Officials from the state's Water Quality and Wildlife Resources divisions will meet this week with a state health lab epidemiologist to decide how to do the science that could justify advisories, says Water Quality chief Walt Baker.

Earlier this month, the state reported four of 170 fish taken from state waterways contained mercury levels exceeding federal standards. That small sample isn't enough for officials to draw conclusions on the effects mercury contamination may be having in Utah. Baker says Utah officials must weigh issues of how to design the research, how extensive warnings are issued and the effects on health, as well as nutritional needs of those who eat the fish.

Mercury occurs naturally in the environment but is also released by coal-fired power plants and can come from as far away as China. Areas of Utah are downwind from gold-mining operations in Nevada that produce 9 percent or more of the mercury released in the United States. Mercury falls to the Earth in rain and accumulates in the muscle of fish. It affects the human nervous system, and is most harmful to fetuses and young children because it can cause developmental and neurological problems. Recent studies have linked mercury exposure to autism, Alzheimer's disease and heart disease in men.

In the West, only Utah and Wyoming don't have mercury-related fish advisories.