Great Salt Lake high in mercury pollution

SALT LAKE CITY, Aug. 21 (UPI) -- Mercury levels in Utah's Great Salt Lake are the highest of any body of water in the United States, say scientists studying the effect on animal and plant life.

"All we know is that there is a problem out there, but there's more to understanding how to deal with it," said Manusel Pearce, a spokesman for the Great Salt Lake Alliance.

A study now being completed could help show if mercury is drifting into Utah from Nevada's goldmines, and whether the 9 million to 12 million birds that migrate each year are absorbing mercury from the lake, The Salt Lake Tribune reported Friday.

Mercury levels in the lake typically are double those found in more than 90 percent of water sampled nationally, said state water quality specialist Jodi Gardberg.

The lake's saltiness, low oxygen, high sulfur and dissolved organic carbon help transform elemental mercury into toxic methyl mercury, which builds up in the food chain.