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SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 21, 2009
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NEWS ABOUT: mercury

mercury stories: 15 news summaries

(Newser) - Jeremy Piven was on the level when he blamed mercury poisoning for his decision to bail on a Broadway production of Speed-the-Plow last December, an arbitrator has ruled. "While we respect the decision, we strongly disagree with it," the producers of the David Mamet play said in a... More »

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entertainment • theater • Broadway • mercury • sushi • mercury poisoning • David Mamet • Jeremy Piven • Speed-the-Plow

 Test Finds Mercury 
 in Every Fish 

A quarter contaminated beyond EPA safety limit

Aug 20, 09 12:04 PM CDT
(AP) - Catch a fish in one of America's streams, and there's a good chance it will have at least trace amounts of mercury. The most comprehensive survey to date from the US Geological Survey tested more than 1,000 fish from nearly 300 streams around the nation—and found mercury in... More »

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environment • pollution • food contamination • fish • Environmental Protection Agency • trout • contamination • power plant • toxic • US Geological Survey • mercury

 Maine Law Targets CFL Mercury 

Bill will make manufacturers lower mercury content, pay for safe recycling

May 29, 09 3:09 AM CDT
(Newser) - Maine has become the first state in the nation to tackle the problem of mercury in low-energy light bulbs, the Boston Globe reports. A new state law requires manufacturers to reduce the amount of the toxic metal in the bulbs and pay for the cost of safe recycling, a measure... More »

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compact fluorescent bulbs • light bulb • Maine • mercury • low-energy light bulbs

(Newser) - A federal law that keeps utilities from poisoning the air is causing toxic metals to infiltrate US waterways, the Washington Post reports. As the Environmental Protection Agency debates possible solutions with lawmakers, utility companies are storing pollutants like mercury and selenium in sludge ponds that eventually leak into lakes... More »

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United States • Environmental Protection Agency • pollutants • river • mercury • coal power • selenium • airborne contaminants • EPA • waterborne

(Newser) - Jeremy Piven has escaped punishment—at least for now—for bailing on the Broadway play Speed-the-Plow, reports Playbill. Piven insists he had to leave because of mercury poisoning, but the producers aren't buying it. The actor appeared before representatives of the Actors' Equity Association and the Broadway League at a... More »

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Broadway • actor • mercury • Jeremy Piven

 Mercury Found in Corn Syrup 

Researchers believe contamination comes from corn syrup

Jan 27, 09 8:11 AM CST
(Newser) - A test of some of America's most popular processed foods has turned up trace amounts of mercury, the Minneapolis Star-Tribune reports. Researchers believe that the mercury, found in levels far lower than in seafood, comes from plants that use caustic soda laced with mercury to produce high-fructose corn syrup, widely... More »

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food contamination • food safety • mercury • corn syrup • food industry • contaminants

OPINION

Sundance Stunner Sheds Light on Dolphin Slaughter

The Cove filmmakers aim to curb demand for mammals from aquariums, for food

Jan 22, 09 11:41 AM CST
(Newser) - Planning a trip to Sea World? You might want to go before you see The Cove—because you sure won’t want to after. The documentary, made by a National Geographic photographer and Flipper’s former trainer, takes viewers inside a secret cove in Japan, Andrew O’Hehir, from Sundance,... More »

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Japan • Sundance Film Festival • mercury • dolphins • Sea World

 Mercury Illness Was Real: Piven

Star defends decision to leave Broadway production

Jan 12, 09 2:29 PM CST
(Newser) - Jeremy Piven has taken a lot of flak since leaving the Broadway production of Speed-the-Plow due to unhealthy amounts of mercury in his body—including anonymous sources who said medical reasons were a cover for the fact that he was fired—but the condition was real, the actor tells People.... More »

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theater • Broadway • mercury • sushi • mercury poisoning • David Mamet • Jeremy Piven • Speed-the-Plow

'Mercury Count' Speeds Piven's Broadway Exit

Writer David Mamet
is a little skeptical
of star's ailment

Dec 18, 08 11:57 AM CST
(Newser) - Jeremy Piven is bailing on Broadway because of a high mercury count, and it doesn’t sound like David Mamet is buying the excuse, Variety reports. “My understanding is that he is leaving show business to pursue a career as a thermometer,” said Mamet, who wrote Speed-the-Plow. The... More »

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Broadway • mercury • David Mamet • Jeremy Piven • Speed-the-Plow

(Newser) - American women are afflicted by high Mercury levels depending on where they live and how much they earn, a new study says. Northeasterners are worst off, with a 20% chance of high mercury, 10 points higher than the national rate. Midwesterners eat less seafood and had lower levels overall, the... More »

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Northeast • Midwest • fish • mercury • sushi • fetal health

Japanese Dolphin Cuisine: Cruelty or Culture?

Activists have no right to decry slaughter of Flipper's brethren, locals say

Feb 12, 08 10:35 AM CST
(Newser) - One activist calls the Japanese city of Taiji "ground zero for the largest slaughter of dolphins on planet Earth," but locals want him and his cohorts to mind their own business. Residents of Taiji have been eating dolphin meat for hundreds of years and say they have as... More »

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Japan • dolphin • mercury • Ric O'Barry

Court Upbraids EPA for Mercury Cap-and-Trade

Greenies hail ruling, which will force agency to rewrite controls

Feb 8, 08 5:40 PM CST
(Newser) - A court ruled today that the Environmental Protection Agency violated the Clean Air Act by instituting a “cap-and-trade” program for the emission of mercury and other toxic chemicals. Reuters reports that the federal court's ruling means coal-fired plants will all have to invest in mercury-reduction equipment in order to... More »

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Bush administration • Clean Air Act • Environmental Protection Agency • mercury • coal power

'Sushi Capital' Japan Isn't Sweating Tuna Scare

Sushi capital continues to eat up

Jan 27, 08 5:35 AM CST
(Newser) - New Yorkers may be in the throes of a sushi scare after the Times reported on the dangerous mercury levels in tuna, but the Japanese aren't batting an eyelid. One official's biggest concern was that the controversy would ignite "groundless rumors" about a healthy food, AP reports. "We're... More »

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health • Japan • tuna • fish • mercury • sushi

High Mercury Levels Found
in Tuna Sushi

FDA reconsidering warnings on
seafood mercury

Jan 23, 08 7:50 AM CST
(Newser) - A quarter of tuna sushi sampled in New York contained mercury levels so high that the FDA could take legal action to ban the fish from the market, reports the New York Times.  Although the sushi was collected in New York City, experts believe samples elsewhere would be similar.... More »

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FDA • tuna • mercury • sushi • mercury poisoning

Vaccine Mercury Ruled Out as Autism Cause: Study

Rates continued to climb even after most mercury was eliminated

Jan 8, 08 5:45 AM CST
(Newser) - Mercury in vaccines, long suspected as a cause of autism, has been ruled out in a new study of children suffering from the brain disorder.  Most mercury was removed from the vaccine preservative thimerosal  in 2001—but instead of autism rates falling, they continued to rise in California, according... More »

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autism • thimerosal • Department of Health • mercury • Montreal Children's Hospital • Dr. Robert Schechter • Judith Grether

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