I have a Going Green column today about the mercury testing I had done on myself, thanks to the Sierra Club. Turns out my levels were more than twice the recommended safety limit—most likely due to seafood consumption. But it’s not fish that are really at fault—mercury is emitted from coal plants, which then makes its way into aquatic environment, where it can then contaminate fish. I’m not really at much risk, but pregnant women and women who want to give birth can be, because mercury is a neurotoxin for infants and very young children. Eliminating all seafood from your diet isn’t the answer though—you’ll probably be worse off if you forgo the heart-healthy benefits of eating seafood. But you can change your diet to eat different kinds of fish that are lower in mercury, like shrimp or salmon. And ultimately, we need to reduce mercury pollution from coal power plants—which a proposed new Environmental Protection Agency regulations should do.
Read the piece here.
