Mutated Trout (4 eyes, *not* 3) Raise New Concerns Near Mine Sites

[mojowork_n]

It's from Southern Idaho, not Northern Wisconsin.

But it's not just a cartoon fantasy, any more -- a comedy highlight from an old Simpsons episode.

The fish in the river in Southern Idaho had 4 eyes. Because they all had two heads.

According to this NYT article, "...The regulation of selenium pollution is ...a highly contested issue in mountaintop coal mining in West Virginia....

http://readersupportednews.org/news-section2/312-16/10142-mutated-trout-raise-new-concerns-near-mine-sites

Perhaps it is something we can all look forward to, if the Gogebic Taconite mining initiative
is approved, in our own state.

If that turns out to be the case, look out for:

Photographs of variously mutated brown trout were relegated to an appendix of a scientific study commissioned by the J. R. Simplot Company, whose mining operations have polluted nearby creeks in southern Idaho. The trout were the offspring of local fish caught in the wild that had been spawned in the laboratory. Some had two heads; others had facial, fin and egg deformities.

Yet the company's report concluded that it would be safe to allow selenium - a metal byproduct of mining that is toxic to fish and birds - to remain in area creeks at higher levels than are now permitted under regulatory guidelines. The company is seeking a judgment to that effect from the Environmental Protection Agency. After receiving a draft report that ran hundreds of pages, an E.P.A. review described the research as "comprehensive" and seemed open to its findings, which supported the selenium variance for Simplot's Smoky Canyon mine.

But when other federal scientists and some environmentalists learned of the two-headed brown trout, they raised a ruckus, which resulted in further scientific review that found the company's research wanting.

From elsewhere on the web:

http://www.eco-usa.net/toxics/chemicals/selenium.shtml

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has determined that selenium sulfide may reasonably be anticipated to be a carcinogen. Although some early studies with rats suggested that some selenium compounds might cause cancer, more recent and more thorough studies did not show that selenium compounds cause cancer (with the exception of selenium sulfide).

So there it is, the *S* word ------> Sulfide.

A little while ago, there was a posting here about language in the mining bill that would have specifically
defined what was, and what was not, "sulfide ore body."

The language of the bill has been written to make the case that:

Sulfide ore body” means a mineral deposit in which nonferrous metals are mixed with sulfide minerals.”
....As defined in the bill, “ferrous” simply means iron. Thus, according to this provision a sulfide ore body is one in which metals other than iron are mixed with sulfides. What, then, is the legal status of pyrite, which is IRON (II) sulfide? Depending on whether the term “mixed with” includes “chemically combined” this provision may actually redefine the principal sulfide mineral in ALL mines as a non-sulfide. This is the equivalent of legislatively redefining the value of pi.

http://wcmcoop.com/members/update-to-press-release-on-sulfides-in-the-proposed-penokee-mine/

[eppur_se_muova]

1. Selenium is well-established as a teratogen ...

IIRC, this was in part because of discovery of large numbers of deformed bird embryos in wetlands where selenium had accumulated due to evaporation in a desert lake with no outlet.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Selenium#Toxicity

(To split hairs, these are most likely deformed trout, not mutated -- their deformities are probably not heritable, i.e. if they had offspring in an environment lacking Se, the offspring would probably be normal. A teratogen specifically interferes with the development of embryos from normal DNA; a mutagen alters DNA, producing heritable changes.)

[mojowork_n]

2. OK, so in The Simpsons the critters were mutated, but in real life....

it was more like the juvenile fish had problems because of what
Mama fish was ingesting. ("Don't drink while pregant," the number
one teratagen in humans is -- alcohol?)

The link from the eco-organization, on the general health effects of selenium, uses the phrase,
"birth defects."

The only selenium compound shown to be carcinogenic in animals is selenium sulfide, which is used in some anti-dandruff shampoos. Selenium sulfide is not present in foods and is very different chemically from the organic and inorganic selenium compounds found in foods and in the environment. The rats and mice that developed cancer were fed the compound daily. Because selenium sulfide is not absorbed through the skin, use of shampoos containing this compound is considered safe unless a person has open cuts or sores on the scalp or hands.

Although exposure to high levels of inorganic selenium compounds has been shown to cause birth defects in birds, selenium compounds have not been shown to cause birth defects in humans or in other mammals. Because birds and mammals develop very differently, it is not surprising that some chemicals can cause effects in one group but not in the other.

Although people exposed to selenium dust and airborne selenium compounds in the workplace reported dizziness, fatigue, irritation of mucous membranes, and, in extreme cases, fluid in the lungs (pulmonary edema) and severe bronchitis, it is not possible to identify the exact exposure levels at which these effects are expected to occur.

This is a relatively old report, from 1989. Hard to say if the knowledge base has grown, in the meantime, or maybe it has shrunk. (If the coal companies have been spending their money effectively.)

[eppur_se_muova]

3. Of course, "The Simpsons" is not a documentary ... ;^)

... and in common usage, the term "mutant" is often used incorrectly. We're basically stuck with it. C'est la vie.

The info on differences between birds and mammals is interesting, but I wouldn't take *too* much comfort in it. Selenium certainly produces toxic effects in humans, but paradoxically, is also a micronutrient. The amount of Se we get in natural foods (a few dozen micrograms) is safe, but we don't need more than that. Overdosing can cause your hair to fall out, among other things.

Mining companies seem to feel that "not PROVEN to cause cancer" and "perfectly safe" are identical in meaning. But their executives drink bottled water.

[midnight]

4. K&R