Insight

Distilling Science at the Experimental Lakes Area: Studying mercury in ecosystems

This video highlights the role that IISD-ELA has played in helping the world understand and respond to the effects of mercury in our ecosystems, particularly excessive mercury that comes from human sources.

By Karla Zubrycki, Karla Zubrycki, Mike Paterson, Joel Trenaman, Build Films on April 11, 2014

Mercury affects the central nervous system, including the brain, and is an endocrine disruptor.

This video highlights the role that the Experimental Lakes Area (ELA), a freshwater science research facility in northwestern Ontario, Canada, has played in helping the world understand and respond to the effects of mercury in our ecosystems, particularly excessive mercury that comes from human sources.

Mercury affects the central nervous system, including the brain, and is an endocrine disruptor. That means we have to be careful about how much of it is in the food we eat.

The research at the ELA has provided critical answers on how mercury gets into the food chain, and what we should do about it. For instance, ELA research on mercury influenced decisions in Canada and the United States to require controls on emissions from the smokestacks of coal and oil-fired power plants. In addition, the 2013 Minamata Convention on Mercury includes controls on mercury emissions into the atmosphere; ELA research helped provide scientific justification for measures proposed in the convention.

To support IISD-ELA, consider making a donation, or to learn more, visit http://www.iisd.org/ela/.