Budget cuts end SC mercury testing, study campaign

CHARLESTON, S.C. (AP) — South Carolina’s environmental agency has dropped plans for a major statewide study of mercury contamination in the state’s waters and the effect it has on people.

The Post and Courier of Charleston reported the Department of Health and Environmental Control says severe budget cuts have prompted the agency to drop a campaign around the state to reduce mercury and show how much of a health risk it poses to people who eat fish from the state’s lakes and rivers.

DHEC has scaled back the effort and is doing a statewide phone survey to determine how many people are exposed to potentially harmful levels of mercury from freshwater fish.

Some mercury pollution comes from coal-fired power plants.

Contaminated fish have been found in more than 1,700 miles of the state’s rivers.

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Information from: The Post and Courier, http://www.postandcourier.com