MARY BARRETT/Spectrum

May 4, 2007

As a health care provider, I am concerned about adverse health effects from mercury emissions if Matanuska Electric Association continues with its plan to build a coal-fired electrical generator. The purported “clean” technology will still emit significant amounts of mercury and carbon dioxide, and there are health concerns and costs to consider. Currently, Alaska has very low levels of mercury emissions because we have very few coal-fired plants. But given the push to build more coal plants on the state and national levels, Alaska's mercury levels could skyrocket.

MEA may claim that the mercury emissions from their coal-fired plant may be below acceptable levels, but with the proposed Chuitna strip-mine across Cook Inlet, and if Agrium builds its own coal-fired power plant in North Kenai, then the cumulative levels of mercury from coal dust, as coal is transported and in power plant emissions, could easily reach unacceptable levels.

We Alaskans are grateful to be able to eat salmon and halibut that is mercury-free, while tuna eaters, especially pregnant women and small children, are advised to limit their consumption. I know many people who like to eat buffalo raised in the Valley for its health advantages, such as being free range and lower in fat content.

When mercury particles fall on the soil, they will be taken up by the growing grass and will be further concentrated in the buffalo and then, finally in us, as the mercury travels up the food chain. What are the costs to the farmers and the fishermen if they can't sell wild salmon and Valley-grown buffalo if they are no longer mercury free?

Mercury could be similarly concentrated in wild game, making moose a less healthful food option.

Finally, mercury in the soils would kill any prospect for developing organic agriculture. I prefer my carrots mercury-free.

Mercury has multi-organ effects. Pulmonary absorption of mercury vapor is high and the kidney is the major site of deposition. Methyl mercury is highly absorbed from the gastrointestinal tract and is later deposited in the kidneys, hair (which can be tested for mercury) and nervous system.

A variety of symptoms include tremors of the fingers and hands, change in personality, anxiety, excitability, memory loss, depression, fatigue and weakness. The kidneys' ability to filter properly is diminished and protein will be leaked into the urine.

What are the costs to our school systems if children with low-level mercury poisoning can't learn and have to be placed in special education because they are excitable, depressed or suffer memory loss? What effect will mercury exposure have on children already diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and depression?

Will MEA pay for the necessary increase in the school budget? Will MEA pay to have children's mercury levels checked?

What about the health-care costs to individuals suffering symptoms of high mercury levels, such as lab tests, health-care visits and treatment? If the individual is low income, can Medicaid afford to take on that extra cost burden?

What about the stress of not knowing whether your symptoms represent mercury toxicity or some other medical condition? The diagnosis can be difficult to reach because the symptoms of mercury poisoning can be caused by other diseases.

An individual could have high normal levels of mercury and still have subtle intellectual, motor and psychological impairment. These questions may seem far-fetched until one remembers the days of routine testing of lead levels in children exposed to lead-based paints in the past.

Finally, I wonder how these health concerns fit into the MEA board's cost/benefit analysis of their proposed coal-fired electrical generator? Unfortunately, I am unable to find out, because the board has chosen to keep its Integrated Resource Plan secret, unavailable for public review.

As a health-care provider and an MEA ratepayer, I want access and accountability from my cooperative because my voice counts. I hope that other MEA members who are concerned about their health and that of their children also demand answers to the questions that I have raised and to other concerns that they might have.

Cooperation means working together with an open exchange of information for everyone's benefit - not mistrust and secrets behind closed doors.

Everyone knows that prevention is the best treatment, so why increase mercury levels when there are cleaner alternatives to coal that MEA should be eager to explore and implement if the board truly has their members' interests at heart.

Palmer resident Mary Barrett is a longtime nurse practitioner.