Editorial: Tests reveal mercury

Monday, May 14, 2007 | 7:06 a.m.

The state's new monitoring process for Nevada's gold mines has shown that three forms of mercury are being emitted by the smokestacks of five of Nevada's biggest mines - including the type that can taint fish populations.

The tests, which are voluntary under the Nevada regulations that were enacted earlier this year, will help the state Division of Environmental Protection determine what type of pollution control technology is needed, a division spokesman told the Associated Press in a story on Friday.

Environmentalists have long suspected that airborne mercury from Nevada mines has polluted waterways and contaminated fish and waterfowl populations in Nevada and neighboring Utah and Idaho.

The new findings did not determine how much of this oxidized form of mercury is being emitted. More tests are needed to do that, state environmental protection officials said.

We hope the agency is diligent in pursuing the additional tests, as the potential for mercury emissions could be significant.

Nevada's mines produce 78 percent of the nation's gold and 12 percent of all gold in the world. Mercury is a byproduct of the gold refining process, and it is likely that the state's mines are emitting at least some of this toxic chemical.

Mercury poisoning can damage people's kidneys and impair brain function, so mercury levels must be closely monitored. And we still are not convinced that allowing mines to self-police their emissions is the best course of action.