Mercury Hair Testing Launched in the Pee Dee

Columbia – Amid growing concern about the health impacts of Santee Cooper’s proposed coal plant, SCSaysNO launched its own mercury testing campaign for the people of the Pee Dee region. The first hair-testing event took place Wednesday, April 8, in downtown Florence, at Jay's Barbershop on Darby Street.

The initiative was announced by coalition partners Conservation Voters of South Carolina, Students Allied for a Greener Environment, the Sierra Club, and SC Wildlife Federation. Dozens of conservationists, students, and university professors gathered at the Green Quad at University of South Carolina to launch the campaign.

Speaking on behalf of the Sierra Club, Jennifer Howell offered, “As I speak, concerned citizens and health professionals are meeting at a barbershop in Florence to get tested for mercury contamination. Their hair samples will be sent to a certified lab for analysis and the confidential results will be sent to each person who participates.”

An investigative series in 2007 by the Post and Courier revealed extremely high levels of mercury poisoning among people who fish from the rivers of the Pee Dee region. Out of the 41 people tested by Post and Courier, 17 had mercury levels higher than what is considered safe.

Soon after the Post and Courier’s findings were released, a group of five physicians in Florence asked DHEC to begin testing people in the region for mercury and to suspend the air permitting process. This was in the fall of 2007. It is now 2009 and DHEC has still not undertaken that testing, despite repeated calls from conservationists and physicians, including the health advocacy group Physicians for Social Responsibility.

Sarah Lloyd with South Carolina Wildlife Federation drew the following conclusion: “Essentially we are doing what DHEC should have done all last year. While this is only the first step in our campaign, we hope DHEC will initiate a comprehensive testing program of its own.”

According to Florence pediatrician Dr. Weave Whitehead, who attended the mercury testing event in Florence, “We need to get a better sense of the potential health risks posed by this coal plant for the people of this region, particularly its impacts on vulnerable populations like children, pregnant women, and the elderly.”

“South Carolina has one of the worst mercury problems in the nation, yet DHEC has avoided testing people despite repeated calls from physicians that they do so,” stated Blan Holman of the Southern Environmental Law Center. “In the absence of state leadership, physicians and concerned citizens are taking the initiative.”

In Columbia, Jennifer Howell concluded, “We are gathered here today to show our support for the people of Pee Dee and our concern for our health in South Carolina. I am not only a student of South Carolina but have lived here my entire life. I am proud to call this state my home. Dirty coal is not the way to go, and we call on DHEC to suspend its mercury permit for the plant and begin a rigorous testing program for the people of the Pee Dee.”