TMCnet News
EPA mercury content report under criticism(China Post)The Environmental Protection Administration came under fire yesterday for releasing a survey report on the mercury content in hair, that is alleged to have discouraged people from eating deep-water fish. Fishermen in Ilan and Hualien were irate over the report that slashed prices of their sharks and swordfish by close to 40 percent. Even worse, fishermen said, their fish are finding fewer buyers. "We'll go to Taipei and protest against the EPA," said a fishermen's association leader. Tu Li-hua, Hualien county director of agriculture and fisheries, doubted the credibility of the EPA survey. "Only 20 residents of the county were interviewed," she said, "but the report made Hualien lead all places in Taiwan in the average mercury content in hair." Wang Cheng-hsiung, EPA deputy director of inspection, said the survey aimed at finding out how much mercury the man in the street accumulates. "We've talked to fishermen in east Taiwan," Wang said, "and they have understood." In fact, the EPA report, released on last Tuesday, showed people in Taiwan are free from mercury poisoning. Their average mercury content in hair was 2.4 milligrams per kilogram, much lower than the allowable amount of 50 milligrams per kilogram. That was about the same as the average in Japan, though only one milligram higher than in the United States. Mercury poisoning is toxic condition caused by ingestion of mercury-containing foods, mostly contaminated fish. Contamination of waters with industrial wastes containing mercury has led to contaminated fish. Larger fishes accumulate more mercury. |