Updated: August 12, 2005

DEP Statement on Mercury

A recent news report has called attention to scientists who are studying the presence of mercury in birds in the City's upstate watershed area. The nine million people who rely on the City's water supply should know that the article does not state that there is mercury in the City's water supply system.

The Department of Environmental Protection closely monitors conditions in the watershed and any effect on water quality. The DEP tests the drinking water thousands of times each year in hundreds of different locations. Those test results, as made public each year in the City's Water Quality Statement (link to statement online), show that mercury is undetectable in the City's water supply.

Mercury is a regional concern throughout the northeastern U.S. as a result of pollution that migrates in the air from midwestern power plants and factories. The State of New York assesses the health risk associated with the consumption of fish and has advised that people limit the amount of fish they eat from regional water bodies because mercury becomes concentrated in the flesh of aquatic animals. This advisory applies to New York City's upstate reservoirs even though mercury is not present at detectable levels in the water itself.

New York City is currently a lead plaintiff in a lawsuit against the federal government to force the stricter regulation of the mercury emissions that affect the northeast U.S. For more information about the health effects of mercury, contact your physician or the NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene's Division of Environmental & Occupational Disease Epidemiology at (212) 788-4290.

People who believe they have suffered from mercury poisoning can call the NYC Poison Control Center at (212) POISONS (212-764-7667)