Two Utah state agencies have denied a request for an independent testing program of mercury levels in fish in the Great Salt Lake Basin. In February the U.S. Geological Survey announced that the lake has the highest concentration of toxic mercury ever found in the environment. The state said it's already working on mercury testing, and doesn't want to confuse the public with multiple tests that might have conflicting results.
Utahns are at risk from eating locally caught fish. Mercury, a neurotoxin that causes developmental problems and brain and nervous damage, accumulates in animals as it moves up the food chain, and is particularly dangerous to babies in the womb, infants and children.
Read EWG's work on mercury and seafood.
Update from the San Francisco Chronicle: FDA shut down a California law last wek requiring mercury warnings on cans of tuna sold in the state, saying the warning labels would "conflict with federal law and mislead consumers."
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