MERCURY IN TUNA
THREATENS DEVELOPING BABIES AND CHILDREN
These findings are included in the report, PROTECTING BY DEGREES, written bythe Environmental Working Group for Health Care Without Harm, a coalition ofmore than 170 groups dedicated to environmentally responsible health care.Test results reported in PROTECTING BY DEGREES are consistent with studiesdone by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in 1993. In bothinstances, chunk light tuna contained levels of mercury that create serioushealth risks:
"Tuna fish has too much mercury to be eaten regularly by pregnant women andyoung children. But that's not the fault of the tuna or the people whocaught or canned it," explained Charlotte Brody, RN, Co-Coordinator ofHealth Care Without Harm. "Industries that use mercury and the governmentsthat regulate them must take responsibility for getting mercury out of ourfish and out of our children's developing brains."
"Health care groups like Kaiser Permanente, Dartmouth-Hitchcock and NewYork's Beth Israel Medical Center are leaders in developing a cure for themercury problem," said Todd Hettenbach, EWG policy analyst and primaryauthor of the report. "These hospitals are voluntarily eliminating mercurybecause of the threat to public health and showing other health careproviders and other industries that it can be done."
Safe, cost-comparable alternatives exist for most of the mercury use inhospitals. Thermometers and blood pressure-measuring devices are two of themost commonly used mercury-containing devices. A mercury fever thermometer,like those used in the home, contains enough mercury to potentiallycontaminate 9,000 cans of tuna fish. A desk-mounted sphygmomanometer (usedfor measuring blood pressure) contains enough mercury to potentiallycontaminate 492,000 six-ounce cans of chunk light tuna.
"As we learned with mercury instruments, some of the weapons we use to fightdisease can also be weapons that compromise a healthy environment," saidDavid Lawrence, M.D., chairman and Chief Executive Officer of KaiserFoundation Health Plan and Kaiser Foundation Hospitals. "We need to addressthe long-term consequences of treatment options and challenge ourselves todevise effective alternatives that do less environmental harm."
Health Care Without Harm is an international campaign made up of health careprofessionals, hospitals, environmental advocates, organizations ofhealth-impacted individuals, religious organizations and labor unions. Thecampaign's mission is to transform the health care industry so it is nolonger a source of environmental harm by eliminating the pollution in healthcare practices without compromising safety or care. The EnvironmentalWorking Group, a member organization of Health Care Without Harm, is anenvironmental research organization based in Washington, DC.
Contact: Charlotte Brody, Health Care Without Harm: 703-237-8389
Todd Hettenbach, Environmental Working Group: 202-667-6982
Provided by: Environmental Working Group
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