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Margie Nellor Nellor Environmental Associates

National Mercury Quiz !. National Mercury Issues The 22nd Annual EPA Region & Region VI Pretreatment Association Workshop August 9, 2006. Margie Nellor Nellor Environmental Associates. Background on Mercury. Who came up with the name “mercury” for the metal?. No one knows The Romans

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Margie Nellor Nellor Environmental Associates

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  1. National Mercury Quiz ! National Mercury IssuesThe 22nd Annual EPA Region & Region VI Pretreatment Association WorkshopAugust 9, 2006 Margie Nellor Nellor Environmental Associates

  2. Background on Mercury

  3. Who came up with the name “mercury” for the metal? • No one knows • The Romans • Robert Boyle – the founding father of chemistry • Isaac Newton • The Greeks

  4. Answer: e) The Greeks Greek Philosopher Theophrastus around 300 BC

  5. Which ancient civilization is responsible for coining a term for mercury that is the basis of its chemical symbol? • China • India • Rome • Egypt

  6. Answer: c) Rome Hydrargyrum [Hy*drar"gy*rum]- for watery or liquidsilver

  7. If you swallow liquid mercury will it kill you? • Yes • No Little Willie from his mirror Licked the mercury right off, Thinking in his childish error It would cure the whooping cough. At the funeral his mother Brightly said to Mrs. Brown: “Twas a chilly day for Willie When the mercury went down. Harry Graham, Ruthless Rimes for Heartless Homes, 1899

  8. Answer: b) No

  9. What is Kibyo? • A beauty cream used to whiten skin • A fish know to contain large amounts of mercury • Minamata disease • None of the above

  10. Muscular Contracture in the Fingers Answer: c) Minamata disease References: http://www.pitt.edu/~super1/lecture/lec0361/index.htm http://www.nimd.go.jp/english/

  11. Mercury Sources

  12. Dental offices are the largest source of mercury in wastewater. Which of the following are not significant sources? • Hospitals • Laboratories • Human waste • Gray water • Industries • Schools/universities • b & f • b, e & f

  13. Largest sources: • Dental offices • Human waste (feces & dietary) • Household products • Laundry gray water • Hospitals 2002 NACWA Mercury Source Control &Pollution Prevention Program Evaluation Final Report http://www.amsa-cleanwater.org/advocacy/mercgrant/ The Scoop on Poop http://www.heptune.com/poop.html#Photo%20Gallery Answer: h) Labs, industries, schools, universities

  14. What soft drink, drink-mix or juice has the highest concentration of mercury? • Cranberry Juice Concentrate • Orange Juice • Mega Mountain Twists Blastin’ Berry Cherry • A Yellow Carbonated Soft Drink (12 oz can) • Apple Juice

  15. No Brand Names Mercury 6070ng/kg Answer: c) Mega Mountain Twists Blastin’ Berry Cherry Evaluation of Domestic Sources of Mercury NACWA August 2000 http://www.amsa‑cleanwater.org/pubs/mercury/mercury.cfm

  16. Which of these mercury based medicines were available until recently? • Blue bill – laxative • Calomel – laxative, dusting powder for eczema and anal itch • Channing’s solution – antiseptic • Golden eye ointment – conjunctivitis • Grey powder – laxative, syphilis • Mercuric cyanide solution – eye lotion • Mercuric nitrate solutions – removes warts • Mercury ointment – boils • Red mercuric iodide ointment – ringworm • All of the above

  17. Lincoln’s Little Blue Pills Answer: j) All of the above Current problems: skin lightening creams [http://www.nyc.gov/htm/doh/html/epi/mercury_sc.shtml]

  18. Regulatory Issues

  19. What is EPA’s Water Quality Criterion for the Protection of Human Health? • 50 ng/L total mercury • 0.3 milligrams per kilogram methyl mercury in fish tissue • 12 ng/L total mercury • 1.3 ng/L mercury • a & b

  20. Answer: b) Me Hg 0.3 mg/kg fish tissue • EPA-823-R-01-001 (Jan. 2001) • To be used by States in establishing or updating water quality standards within 5 years based on EPA implementation guidance

  21. It’s 2006 - how many states have adopted the fish tissue human health criterion? • None • One • Five • Seven • Nine

  22. Answer: b) – One: Idaho • Negotiated rulemaking • Adopted criterion in April 2005 (0.3 mg/kg Me Hg) • Based on an adult eating 17.5 g/day fish (8-oz meal every other week).  • Adopted Implementation Guidance for permits & TMDLs • http://www.deq.state.id.us/water/data_reports/surface_water/monitoring/parameters.cfm#merc

  23. When is EPA’s Guidance for the Human Health Criteria expected to be released? • 2006 • 2007 • It’s already out • No one knows

  24. Answer: d) – No one knows • Draft developed in 2004 • Concepts used for Idaho rulemaking • Hope to hear an update on the schedule later this summer

  25. What is the name of EPA’s latest mercury plan? • Mercury Action Plan • Framework for Mercury • Roadmap for Mercury • Mercury Action Plan Template

  26. Answer: c) – Roadmap for Mercury • Released July 2006 • Focuses on: • Environmental releases • Uses in products and industrial processes • managing supplies • communicating risks to the public • International sources • Research and monitoring • http://www.epa.gov/mercury/roadmap.htm

  27. In 1994, as part of the GLI, EPA did a mercury study at 9 POTWs (one grab sample per POTW, Method 1631) and found that 4 POTWS had effluent mercury levels below detection. Which of the 4 POTWs has now applied for a variance from the GLI wildlife criteria of 1.3 ng/L? • West Bay County, Michigan • Buchanan, Michigan • Luddington, Michigan • Delphos, Ohio • San Francisco, California

  28. Answer: d) Delphos, Ohio MERCURY VARIANCE APPLICATION PREPARED FOR: THE CITY OF DELPHOS, OHIO PREPARED BY: POGGEMEYER DESIGN GROUP, INC. 1168 NORTH MAIN STREET BOWLING GREEN, OHIO 43402 JOB NO. 2280-130 JANUARY, 2002 REVISED: SEPTEMBER, 2002 http://www.epa.state.oh.us/dsw/guidance/MercVarAppExample.pdf

  29. Which state has proposed the lowest mercury wildlife water quality criterion? • Maine • California • Wisconsin • New York • New Jersey

  30. Answer: e) New Jersey – 0.53 ng/L DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION LAND USE MANAGEMENT WATER MONITORING MANAGEMENT Surface Water Quality Standards N.J.A.C. 7:9B Proposed Amendments: N.J.A.C. 7:9B-1.4, 1.5, 1.14, and 1.15 Authorized By: Bradley M. Campbell, Commissioner, Department of Environmental Protection Authority: N.J.S.A. 58:10A-1 et seq., 58:11A-1 et seq., N.J.S.A. 13:1D-1 et seq. Calendar Reference: See Summary below for explanation of exception to calendar requirement DEP Docket Number: 28-02-10/347 http://www.state.nj.us/dep/wmm/sgwqt/7-9Bprop2002.pdf

  31. Can you use BMPs as local limits for mercury? • Yes • No • No one knows

  32. Answer: a) Yes – Ex. 2000 Ohio EPA Pretreatment Guidance • Local limits may be narrative • BMPs include: Substitution of materials, reformulation/redesign of products, modification of equipment, processes, etc., improvement in management, operation, etc • http://www.epa.state.oh.us/dsw/guidance/guidance.html#Pretreatment • NEORSD: • “All industrial [i.e., non-residential] users that are sources of mercury shall implement best management practices (BMPs) … to minimize discharges of mercury to the System.” • “Certain industrial users and/or classes of industrial users identified by the District as significant … shall comply with District-issued administrative orders requiring submittal and implementation of BMP plans …”

  33. Will the application of amalgam separator programs allow POTWs to achieve mercury effluent concentrations below 1.3? • Yes • No • No will ever know • No one knows yet

  34. Answer: d) No one knows yet • NACWA Mercury Sampling Project • Initiated in 2003 to evaluate effectiveness of dental mercury control programs • Collecting biosolids and low-level influent/effluent mercury data at POTWs with dental amalgam separator installation • Report should be available end 2006

  35. Trivia

  36. What is the name of the mercury-detecting dog used by the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency to check schools and other facilities for spilled and "hidden" mercury? • Allen • Clancy • Hermes • Buddy • Killer

  37. Answer: b) Clancy http://www.pca.state.mn.us/programs/mercury-free/index.html

  38. How much does it cost to clean up a broken 8-foot fluorescent light bulb ? • $ 300,000 • $ 120,000 • $ 70,000 • $ 25,000 • $ 3,000

  39. Answer: c) $70,000 Mercury From Broken Sylvania Bulb Costs $70,000 to Clean-Up, Closes LibraryAdvocates call on lamp makers to inform consumers about product risksINDIANA, MUNCIE, Sep. 29 -/E-Wire/-- The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency attributes the need for $70,000 in clean-up costs at a library in East Central Indiana to the breakage of oneSylvania 8-foot fluorescent light bulb and subsequent vacuuming of the mercury. Starr Press, September 29, 2003

  40. For mercury spills greater than one pound ( > two tablespoons), EPA mandates that you? • Call the National Response Center • Open all windows • Isolate the area • Turn down the temperature • Don't let anyone walk through the mercury or vacuum • Answers b – e

  41. Answer: a) Call the National Response Center http://www.epa.gov/epaoswer/hazwaste/mercury/spills.htm#less

  42. What member of the U.S. House of Representatives told participants at a 2003 hearing that he/she played with mercury as a child? • Nancy Pelosi, CA • Tom Delay, TX • Steven La Tourette, OH • John Tanner, TN • Dan Burton, IN • All of the above

  43. Answer: e) Dan Burton “I believe it was sound public health policy to eliminate mercury from thermometers, blood pressure gauges, cosmetics, light switches, and mining operations. Yet, despite those safety precaution measures, mercury is still widely used by dentists as a restorative material to fill cavities.” http://reform.house.gov/WHR/Hearings/EventSingle.aspx?EventID=494

  44. Approximately how many abandoned mines in California release mercury to the environment? • 1,000 • 6,000 • 14,000 • 30,000 • 170,000

  45. Answer: d) ~ 30,000 Sacramento Bee, October 19, 2003 http://www.sacbee.com/content/news/environment/story/7629516p‑8570113c.html

  46. What is the strangest way someone has tried to use mercury as a potential murder weapon? • As a cake decoration • Pouring mercury into a car’s heating and air conditioning vents • Pouring it into a shoe • Switching calcium pills with mercury tablets

  47. Stephanie Douglas Forrester Sheila Carter If you answered d) you get partial credit Mercury

  48. If you answered b) you get partial credit Washington Post- July 5, 2000 The call to Howard County police on April 16 was unusual: Marta Bradley reported she had found a silvery liquid on the seats, carpets and dashboard of her car parked outside her Laurel home. But police investigators suspected this was more than vandalism. They believed that someone was trying to harm Bradley... Prosecutors say Chmurny, a PhD chemist who has held several high-ranking positions with area biotechnology firms, tried to poison Bradley with mercury vapor by pouring the element into the heating and air conditioning vents of her blue 1992 Ford Taurus.

  49. Answer: c) Pouring mercury into a shoe Earlier this year (2003), the Cleveland Fire Department delivered a one-quart jar containing 16 pounds of liquid mercury to NEORSD’s mercury collection site. It had been given to the Fire Department by the Cleveland Police Department who did not know what to do with it. According to the fireman who delivered it, the jar was evidence in an attempted homicide case in which a man had been trying to poison his wife by pouring the mercury little-by-little into his wife's shoes. The fireman could not provide any further details. Keith Linn presumes that the homicide attempt failed, and only succeeded at making the wife more irritable!

  50. Tie Breakers

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