Impact of a Medical Waste Incinerator on Mercury Levels in Lagoon Fish from a Small Tropical Island in the Western Pacific

In 2004-2005, several species of marine fish were collected for mercury (Hg) analysis from Saipan Lagoon, Saipan, Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands. Relatively high concentrations were found in representatives from the Hafa Adai Beach area located some distance from known sources of Hg co...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of Toxicology and Environmental Health, Part A Part A, 2011-01, Vol.74 (13), p.823-827
Main Authors: Denton, Gary R. W., Trianni, Michael S., Bearden, Brian G., Houk, Peter C., Starmer, John A.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Animals
Beaches
Clean Air Act-US
Contaminated sediments
Enrichment
Fish
Fishes - metabolism
Fresh Water - analysis
Incineration
Incinerators
Islands
Lagoons
Medical Waste Disposal
Medical wastes
Mercury
Mercury - analysis
Micronesia
Runoff
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Summary:In 2004-2005, several species of marine fish were collected for mercury (Hg) analysis from Saipan Lagoon, Saipan, Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands. Relatively high concentrations were found in representatives from the Hafa Adai Beach area located some distance from known sources of Hg contamination. A follow-up investigation aimed at identifying additional land-based sources of Hg in the area was launched in early 2007. The study identified a medical waste incinerator as the primary source of Hg enrichment. The incinerator was operational for about 20 years before it was closed down by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in January 2006, for multiple violations of the Clean Air Act. Stormwater runoff from this facility entered a drainage network that discharged into the ocean at the southern end of Hafa Adai Beach, about 1 km away. At the time of this investigation storm drain sediments at the coast were only marginally enriched with mercury although values some 50x above background were detected in drainage deposits a few meters down-gradient of the incinerator site. Mercury concentrations in fish from the Hafa Adai Beach area were also significantly lower than those determined in similar species 3 yr earlier. The implications of the data are briefly discussed.
ISSN:1528-7394
1087-2620
2381-3504
DOI:10.1080/15287394.2011.570184