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Department of Ecology News Release - September 17, 2007
07-263
YAKIMA - Modern-day miners have teamed up with the Washington Department of Ecology (Ecology) to remove mercury left in streams and rivers from gold rush days. Turn-of-the-century miners left behind a legacy of mercury contamination that the modern-day prospectors are helping to clean up.
Old-time miners would pour mercury directly into sluice boxes and other mining equipment to capture the fine particles of gold. It often spilled into river gravel where modern miners, who don't use mercury, find it while they are prospecting and remove it from the environment.
Over the past four years, the Resources Coalition and other small-scale miners associations have turned in 127 pounds of mercury and 8 pounds of lead for safe disposal. This year, Ecology staff attended miners' rallies in Oroville and Monroe, providing a convenient opportunity for proper disposal of lead and mercury.
"That is 127 pounds of mercury no longer contaminating Washington's waterways or being accidentally spilled," explained Brian Dick, a manager with Ecology's hazardous waste and toxics reduction program. "The miners have responded with great enthusiasm and have worked with Ecology to get the word out to their members about our collection program."
In Washington, small-scale miners are allowed to prospect for gold in streams under rules described in the Gold and Fish pamphlet. More information about the Gold and Fish pamphlet is available online at: http://www.wdfw.wa.gov/hab/goldfish/goldfish.htm.
Mark Erickson, with the Resources Coalition said, "Our members care about the environment and are happy to help remove legacy mercury and lead from Washington's rivers and streams."
Mercury is a naturally occurring metallic element. A neurotoxin, mercury can damage nerve tissue in animals and humans who are exposed to it. Mercury spills are dangerous, difficult and costly to clean up. In May of 2007, two Yakima teens playing with mercury they found in a nearby storage shed caused over $265,000 in property damage. One of the teens was hospitalized as a result of mercury exposure.
There is a national effort to reduce the use of mercury. In 2003, the Washington Legislature passed the Mercury Education and Reduction Act, initiating a program to reduce the use of mercury in consumer products and safely dispose of them. For decades, mercury has been used in a variety of household, medical, and electrical products, as well as in industrial applications.
More information on the state's mercury reduction efforts and information on how to safely dispose of mercury containing products may be found online at http://www.ecy.wa.gov/mercury/ or call 1-800-RECYCLE.
More information on mercury and historical mining may be found at these websites:
http://pubs.usgs.gov/fs/2005/3014/
http://ca.water.usgs.gov/mercury/dutch/wrir994018b.pdf
Historical note: In California, during the Gold Rush, it is estimated that ten times more mercury was put into the environment than gold was taken out. Health advisories warning people not to eat certain fish from San Francisco Bay, and other California waterways, are a direct legacy of the California Gold Rush. Some of Washington's rivers in both eastern and western Washington have mercury left from turn-of-the-century gold rushes.
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Media contacts:
Kathy Davis, 360-407-6149
Joye Redfield-Wilder,
509-575-2610
Copyright © Washington State Department of Ecology. See http://www.ecy.wa.gov/copyright.html.
