Mercury in the SF Bay (Hardwear Sessions)

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This page contains a single entry from the blog posted on April 21, 2008 8:51 AM.

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Mercury in the SF Bay

Beware of the San Francisco Bay's shimmering waters. There's mercury in those waters.

How did all that mercury get into our bay?

Most of the mercury dates from California's Gold Rush. 150 years ago, mercury was an essential ingredient in gold production. Miners "cooked" the raw ore with cinnabar, a mineral that contains mercury, and extracted pure 24 karat gold.

Watch Part One of KQED's special, "Mercury on the Bay:

Watch the full-size video on KQED's Quest homepage

View a map of the SF Bay's mercury "hotspots"-- the map shows sources of mercury contamination, as well as popular Bay Area fishing spots. The red balloons represent polluters, while the blue spots represent spots popular with local anglers. Most of them are too close for my comfort.