Mercury Air Concentrations in Northern Nevada

RexB · Mercury Air Concentrations in Northern Nevada

http://www.earthworksaction.org/pubs/MercuryAirConcInNNevada.pdf

Granitegator

Funny you should mention that. I have been researching old mines around the steamboat hotsprings area and was thinking about trying to do a little prospecting there but decided not to because of all the Cinnabar that occurs there not to mention the steam vents that emit merc vapor.'
Then I started to wonder how safe it is to go to Steamboat hotsprings and take a bath.

RexB

Granitegator,

I'm not sure if the amount the springs emit is extremely harmful, I have no idea how high a concentration is a health issue. It does look like according to that report some of the mines, at least if you are not directly downwind of them, have similar levels to that of the natural hot springs. However, a couple of those mines really had concentrations substantially higher than any of the other mines listed. Maybe it was just because the samples were taken directly downwind?

Here's a new story about some NV mines and their alleged "underreporting" of mercury levels. Take it for what it's worth since it's environmentalists doing the accusing:

http://deseretnews.com/article/1,5143,695228791,00.html

RexB

However, I will add that probably any exposure is not good since I imagine it just sits there in your body and accumulates as you come in contact with more mercury.

El Dorado · Mercury

The environmentalist are attacking dredgers in California for removing mercury from the waterways! We are the only ones that remove mercury and they say we are bad for it because when we remove most of the mercury we do not remove all of it (dredges are not 100% efficient) and what we leave has now been removed from the bottom and been diffued into the stream as floured mercury which is much more dangerous then when it rest trapped on the bottom. Baloney at best because during a heavy flood or spring runoff most of it can get even more dispersed.