Rescued Dolphins Released with Elevated Mercury LevelsRescued Dolphins Released with Elevated Mercury Levels [Photo caption: Rocky, a bottlenose dolphin, swims with a GPS tag attached in Indonesia.] Brunswick, Georgia – Three bottlenose dolphins were recently released into the wild in Indonesia after enduring years of captivity in tourist facilities. However, concerns have arisen as research reveals elevated levels of mercury in the dolphins’ skin. Mercury contamination often stems from industrial activities such as fossil fuel combustion. In Brunswick, Georgia, a superfund site known as LCP Chemicals has been identified as a significant source of mercury pollution. Studies conducted by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) indicate that dolphins in the Brunswick area have the highest mercury levels along the East Coast, aside from those found in Biscayne Bay, South Florida. Samples collected from multiple estuaries, including the Turtle/Brunswick River and Sapelo Island estuaries, contained methylmercury, a highly toxic organic compound, in the dolphins’ tissues and organs. The elevated mercury levels are attributed to industrial activities and fossil fuel combustion in the surrounding area. Mercury poses risks to human health, particularly through the consumption of contaminated fish. For more information on the dolphin study and the potential health implications, click on the links provided in the article.
In this photo released by DolphinProject.com, Rocky swims with GPS tag attached on Saturday, September 3, 2022 at the Umah Lumba Rehabilitation, Release and Retirement Center in Banyuwedang Bay, West Bali, Indonesia. Three bottlenose dolphins were released into the open sea in Indonesia on Saturday after years of being caged for the entertainment of tourists who touched and swam with them. (DolphinProject.com via AP)
BRUNSWICK, Ga. (WSAV) – Concerns about mercury levels in fish sources near Brunswick remain after government research found dolphins in the area have elevated levels of mercury in their skin.
According to Mary Landers of The Current, mercury is usually the result of fossil fuel combustion in other nearby industrial activities.
A superfund site in Brunswick, LCP Chemicals, has mercury as one of its top pollutants, according to the Glynn Environmental Coalition.
The dolphins assessed in Brunswick had the highest levels along the East Coast, with the exception of the dolphins found in South Florida in Biscayne Bay.
Samples were collected from multiple estuaries, including the Turtle/Brunswick River and Sapelo Island estuaries, according to an article from NIST.gov, in which scientists also found methylmercury (a highly toxic organic compound) in their other tissues and organs.
You can read more about the dolphin study and read an in-depth article by clicking here, and a graph from a Brunswick/Glynn exposure study here.
