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DOE News Release
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 21, 2003

NEWS MEDIA CONTACTS:
Steve Zollinger, 208-526-9590, gaz@inel.gov

INEEL scientists become "mercury chasers" in Yellowstone National Park

Scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy's Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory, U.S. Geological Survey and the University of Nevada-Reno are measuring mercury levels in the atmosphere in Yellowstone National Park to better determine where the contaminant is coming from and the effect it might have on the environment.

Researchers are trying to answer the question, "Is Yellowstone a potentially large source of mercury emission?" Preliminary results indicate the nation's oldest national park has many areas that were lower than expected, but some areas had very high levels -- higher than those measured at other geothermal areas in the Western United States.

Scientists hope this knowledge provides further understanding of mercury and how emission controls being developed for industry can lead to a cleaner environment.

The research supports DOE research missions in environmental quality and energy security.

Man-made mercury emissions have been well researched and are found to come mostly from fossil fuel and combustion of waste incineration. Natural emissions of mercury, however, from places where geothermal activity exists, have not received as much attention and are, therefore, less understood.  

That's why Yellowstone National Park is getting so much attention. Yellowstone's natural geothermal systems have the potential to be a very high source of mercury. The high temperature water and gases beneath the earth can easily dissolve metals, such as mercury, and force them out at the surface.    

Using advanced instrumentation to measure mercury air concentrations, INEEL scientists Mike Abbott, Joe Lord and Mitch Plummer attempted to find answers to the whereabouts of the elusive element. Besides the USGS and Nevada-Reno, the INEEL team worked with scientists from the University of Montana and University of Wisconsin-Madison to measure mercury at 28 park locations.

Abbott found "fluxes" of up to 2,400 nanograms-per-square-meter-per-hour, a reading indicating the total mass of mercury being emitted over a one-square- meter area in one hour. Other sites in the Norris-Mammoth corridor had fluxes of 200 to 700. As a comparison, sites in nongeothermal background areas have fluxes ranging from 0 to 10.

"We hit some hot spots," said Abbott. "We can see that Yellowstone, as we expected, has potential for high emission rates of mercury. What we need to do now is see how widespread these high emission rates are so that we can 'scale-up' the measurements to get an estimate of the total emissions from the whole area. We can then compare these natural inputs to those that are known to occur from human-caused pollution sources to judge how effective planned emission controls will be."

Mercury is a highly mobile environmental contaminant that is highly toxic to mammals, including people, and can cause a number of adverse health effects.  Concentrations in the atmosphere and on land have increased from three- to 20- times in the last 100 years.  
The primary method of transporting mercury is through the atmosphere, where it finds its way into the nation's ponds, rivers and streams. Mercury contamination of fish is widespread in the United States.  Some form of fish consumption advisories is in effect in 44 states. In fact, a recent issue of "Health" magazine warns of severe memory loss and concentration problems as a result of mercury poisoning from eating fish known for having high levels of mercury.
   
Mercury levels thousands of times above normal levels have been found in soils and surface material near geologic faults and thermal features. In addition, mercury levels in some water in Yellowstone are noticeably higher than those at other high-altitude lakes in Western national parks.  But until now, no significant measurements of mercury in the atmosphere have been made to quantify what contributions Yellowstone's geysers and thermal activity have on the environment.

Now that the initial reconnaissance measurements have been made, additional measurements are planned in the Norris-Mammoth area to better define the extent of the high flux rates.

"Yellowstone is a large area. Now that we know where to look, we'd like to do more detailed measurements to produce a reasonably accurate estimate of total emissions," said Abbott. "We hope the results will lead to a better scientific understanding of why mercury has become such a problem and how much we can change that with mercury emission controls that are now being developed for industry."

The INEEL is a science-based, applied engineering national laboratory dedicated to supporting the U.S. Department of Energy's missions in environment, energy, science and national security.  The INEEL is operated for the DOE by Bechtel BWXT Idaho, LLC.

--INEEL--

03-064

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