Future trends in environmental mercury concentrations: implications for prevention strategies
In their new paper, Bellanger and coauthors show substantial economic impacts to the EU from neurocognitive impairment associated with methylmercury (MeHg) exposures. The main source of MeHg exposure is seafood consumption, including many marine species harvested from the global oceans. Fish, birds...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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BioMed Central Ltd.
2013
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| Online Access: | http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/76765 https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6396-5622 |
| _version_ | 1811096587671175168 |
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| author | Sunderland, Elsie M. Selin, Noelle E |
| author2 | Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences |
| author_facet | Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences Sunderland, Elsie M. Selin, Noelle E |
| author_sort | Sunderland, Elsie M. |
| collection | MIT |
| description | In their new paper, Bellanger and coauthors show substantial economic impacts to the EU from neurocognitive impairment associated with methylmercury (MeHg) exposures. The main source of MeHg exposure is seafood consumption, including many marine species harvested from the global oceans. Fish, birds and other wildlife are also susceptible to the impacts of MeHg and already exceed toxicological thresholds in vulnerable regions like the Arctic. Most future emissions scenarios project a growth or stabilization of anthropogenic mercury releases relative to present-day levels. At these emissions levels, inputs of mercury to ecosystems are expected to increase substantially in the future, in part due to growth in the legacy reservoirs of mercury in oceanic and terrestrial ecosystems. Seawater mercury concentration trajectories in areas such as the North Pacific Ocean that supply large quantities of marine fish to the global seafood market are projected to increase by more than 50% by 2050. Fish mercury levels and subsequent human and biological exposures are likely to also increase because production of MeHg in ocean ecosystems is driven by the supply of available inorganic mercury, among other factors. Analyses that only consider changes in primary anthropogenic emissions are likely to underestimate the severity of future deposition and concentration increases associated with growth in mercury reservoirs in the land and ocean. We therefore recommend that future policy analyses consider the fully coupled interactions among short and long-lived reservoirs of mercury in the atmosphere, ocean, and terrestrial ecosystems. Aggressive anthropogenic emission reductions are needed to reduce MeHg exposures and associated health impacts on humans and wildlife and protect the integrity of one of the last wild-food sources globally. In the near-term, public health advice on safe fish consumption choices such as smaller species, younger fish, and harvests from relatively unpolluted ecosystems is needed to minimize exposure risks. |
| first_indexed | 2024-09-23T16:46:04Z |
| format | Article |
| id | mit-1721.1/76765 |
| institution | Massachusetts Institute of Technology |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-09-23T16:46:04Z |
| publishDate | 2013 |
| publisher | BioMed Central Ltd. |
| record_format | dspace |
| spelling | mit-1721.1/767652024-05-15T08:23:53Z Future trends in environmental mercury concentrations: implications for prevention strategies Sunderland, Elsie M. Selin, Noelle E Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Engineering Systems Division Selin, Noelle Eckley In their new paper, Bellanger and coauthors show substantial economic impacts to the EU from neurocognitive impairment associated with methylmercury (MeHg) exposures. The main source of MeHg exposure is seafood consumption, including many marine species harvested from the global oceans. Fish, birds and other wildlife are also susceptible to the impacts of MeHg and already exceed toxicological thresholds in vulnerable regions like the Arctic. Most future emissions scenarios project a growth or stabilization of anthropogenic mercury releases relative to present-day levels. At these emissions levels, inputs of mercury to ecosystems are expected to increase substantially in the future, in part due to growth in the legacy reservoirs of mercury in oceanic and terrestrial ecosystems. Seawater mercury concentration trajectories in areas such as the North Pacific Ocean that supply large quantities of marine fish to the global seafood market are projected to increase by more than 50% by 2050. Fish mercury levels and subsequent human and biological exposures are likely to also increase because production of MeHg in ocean ecosystems is driven by the supply of available inorganic mercury, among other factors. Analyses that only consider changes in primary anthropogenic emissions are likely to underestimate the severity of future deposition and concentration increases associated with growth in mercury reservoirs in the land and ocean. We therefore recommend that future policy analyses consider the fully coupled interactions among short and long-lived reservoirs of mercury in the atmosphere, ocean, and terrestrial ecosystems. Aggressive anthropogenic emission reductions are needed to reduce MeHg exposures and associated health impacts on humans and wildlife and protect the integrity of one of the last wild-food sources globally. In the near-term, public health advice on safe fish consumption choices such as smaller species, younger fish, and harvests from relatively unpolluted ecosystems is needed to minimize exposure risks. National Science Foundation (U.S.) (Atmospheric Chemistry program (Grant 1053648)) National Science Foundation (U.S.) (Atmospheric Chemistry program (Grant 0961357)) National Science Foundation (U.S.) (Chemical Oceanography Program (Grant 1130549)) United States. Environmental Protection Agency National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (P30 ES00002) Harvard School of Public Health 2013-02-07T19:22:51Z 2013-02-07T19:22:51Z 2013-01 2012-12 2013-02-06T16:05:33Z Article http://purl.org/eprint/type/JournalArticle 1476-069X http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/76765 Sunderland, Elsie M, and Noelle E Selin. “Future Trends in Environmental Mercury Concentrations: Implications for Prevention Strategies.” Environmental Health 12.1 (2013): 2. Web. https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6396-5622 en http://dx.doi.org/10.1186/1476-069X-12-2 Environmental Health Creative Commons Attribution http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0 Elsie M Sunderland et al.; licensee BioMed Central Ltd. application/pdf BioMed Central Ltd. BioMed Central Ltd |
| spellingShingle | Sunderland, Elsie M. Selin, Noelle E Future trends in environmental mercury concentrations: implications for prevention strategies |
| title | Future trends in environmental mercury concentrations: implications for prevention strategies |
| title_full | Future trends in environmental mercury concentrations: implications for prevention strategies |
| title_fullStr | Future trends in environmental mercury concentrations: implications for prevention strategies |
| title_full_unstemmed | Future trends in environmental mercury concentrations: implications for prevention strategies |
| title_short | Future trends in environmental mercury concentrations: implications for prevention strategies |
| title_sort | future trends in environmental mercury concentrations implications for prevention strategies |
| url | http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/76765 https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6396-5622 |
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