MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — A new report says one in 10 babies along Minnesota's border with Lake Superior is born with unhealthy levels of mercury.
Researchers also found the Minnesota infants were more likely to have unhealthy mercury levels in their blood than their counterparts in Wisconsin and Michigan.
Health officials say that's probably because their mothers ate more fish, the primary source of mercury in people.
Pat McCann is the research scientist who conducted the study for the Health Department and the Environmental Protection Agency. She tells the Star Tribune (http://bit.ly/wDLfvN) babies born in the summer months, when local fish consumption is highest, had more mercury.
The state Health Department conducted the study on infants in the Lake Superior Basin as part of the EPA's research into the consequences of mercury in people.
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Information from: Star Tribune, http://www.startribune.com
Copyright 2012 The Associated Press.
