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Mercury is a naturally-occurring toxic trace
element which has a complex cycle between the Earth’s crust, atmosphere and
oceans. Some mercury is released by natural processes but the predominant
emissions to the atmosphere result from human activities, principally mining &
smelting of mineral ores, combustion of fossil fuels, & use of mercury itself.
Today these human activities liberate mercury from its geological sinks into the
free environment at a rate 5 to 6 times higher than in the pre-Industrial era.
Mercury thereby released can travel long distances through atmosphere,
ultimately depositing from the air to our watersheds and wetlands.
 Mercury
deposited in wetlands, lakes and streams can be converted by natural bacteria
into methylmercury, a toxic form that is accumulated and biomagnified at each
link in the food chain. In some circumstances, the result is sport fish that
would be toxic if eaten by humans and prey fish that may be toxic to wildlife
that eat them.
This effect is particularly acute in the
marshes of the Florida Everglades, where largemouth bass once had fish with 6
times the level of mercury safe for human consumption and wading birds are
ingested amounts of mercury close to levels that could reduce their populations.
Substantial progress has been made in
alleviating the mercury problem in south Florida. Human caused mercury emissions
from industrial sources in south Florida, principally incinerators, have come
under effective control during the past decade; emissions of mercury in south
Florida have declined by 90%. Subsequently, mercury in Fish and wildlife of the
Everglades has declined by about 75% to date. However, despite these encouraging
results, mercury levels in fish and wildlife of the region remain excessive. In
2003 US EPA promulgated nationwide mercury standards for our nation’s
waterbodies; the Florida Everglades remains above acceptable limits.
A private - public partnership led by
Florida DEP investigates ways to alleviate this problem. A consortium of
electric utility interests, federal and state agencies is collaborating in the
South Florida Mercury Science Program or SFMSP. SFMSP Managers meet regularly to
apportion research responsibilities, correlate funding requests and share
scientific results on Everglades mercury issues. While the SFMSP is focused on
the Everglades and South Florida, virtually all of its work has statewide and
national application.
This site describes SFMSP strategies,
plans activities and results. Links are given to the mercury related web sites
of SFMSP participants and to other useful web sites dealing with mercury.
Table of Contents
SFMSP - Table of Contents
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Effects Assessment for Mercury in Fish-eating Birds: Setting an Avian Wildlife Criterion. Peer Reviewers' Reports of workshop held October 6-7, 1999, at River Ranch, Florida (PDF, 118 kB)
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Introductory Fact Sheet 3/1/97 (PDF, 421 kB)
- Laboratory Intercomparison FMIP-0999: Water - Total Mercury and Methylmercury
- Publications and Reports by Affiliated Research Groups (2/25/00)
- World Wide Web Publications - Reddy, M.M. , Aiken, G., Schuster, P.F., Gunther, C., Charlton, S., and Tregellas, J., 1996, Summary of data from onsite and laboratory analyses of surface water and marsh porewater from South Florida Water Management District water conservation areas, the Everglades, South Florida, March 1995.
DEP Mercury Program - Table of Contents
DEP Mercury Program Staff
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South Florida Mercury Science Program