I’ll have to look into the Japanese mercury issue and get back to you…

Great work! I love Locust Fork. We talked Friday at Urban with Thomas Diasio.

This afternoon I gave a lecture on toxicology to medical, dental, and optometry students and used your photo of the Miller steam plant and advertised a little for locustfork.net as a resource independent of Southern Co. money.

My main concern is long term virtually irreversible mercury contamination of all our rivers and lakes. Our department of conservation does a little monitoring of mercury in fish, but mostly sits on the little data they generate. One can dig it out on the state website, but it gets little press.

The problem is that mercury washes off the soil, accumulates in sediment where it is methylated by microbes. Methylation of mercury makes it soluble in fat and it accumulates in the food chain, especially the bigger fishes. Removal of the mercury would take a massive dredging operation by presently available technology. Some power plants that serve Tampa emit zero mercury and have been in use for many years.

On another topic–did Spyder know or remark about Eugene Smith the time life photographer who photographed the Minimata, Japan residents, who suffered and died of mercury poisoning from the Chisso plant? Smith believe a photo should benefit someone. His photos of mercury poisoned victims (caused by eating local fish)are compelling. My older brother married a Japanese lady and lived in Japan until recently. He met Smith in Tokyo and invested in one of his books. Smith was beaten by Japanese mafia, apparently for doing the photos, and suffer severe sight loss thereafter.

Best regards for your important work for which I am grateful.

Jeff