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Mercury’s ill effects overstated |
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RE “FISHING for facts’’
(g, Dec. 14): Contrary to what you suggest, mercury in fish sold in the
United States has not “been directly implicated in severe neurological
problems.’’ The entire medical literature doesn’t contain a single
documented such case.
The same is true for developing fetuses: There are no cases of fetal mercury toxicity on record in the United States. In a report issued this month, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention noted: “Finding a measurable amount of mercury in blood or urine does not mean that levels of mercury cause an adverse health effect.’’ The only cases of neurological problems ever linked to mercury in commercial fish were in Japan more than 40 years ago, in a case involving a massive industrial chemical spill. Today’s Japanese eat more than eight times as much fish as Americans, and they suffer no ill effects. |
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EDITORIAL: Fire Dale Jones, reimburse fishermen
Jane Lubchenco made one very important public commitment — on the record and under oath. She noted that the problems in enforcement of fishery regulations, documented in a blistering report by U.S. Commerce Department Inspector General Todd Zinser, had predated her tenure. But she added, "I own them, and I intend to fix them."
