After years, Wisconsin industrial barrel plant addresses mercury in water

Photo: Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District

Mercury has been detected in wastewater coming from an industrial barrel refurbishing plant in St. Francis for at least four years — and more than a dozen times levels exceeded legally permitted limits.

Since at least January 2013, records show the Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District has repeatedly issued warning letters to the company that runs the Mid-America Steel Drum plant, asking it to solve its mercury discharge problem. But the district issued no fines and took no action against the company’s permit and the violations continued, a Milwaukee Journal Sentinel investigation has found.

Mercury, a heavy metal, is a closely monitored environmental toxin that in high enough concentrations can attack the nervous system of humans and wildlife. The levels detected coming from the Mid-America plant are not typically considered a health risk, but experts say they are still a concern because released mercury builds up in the environment. In Milwaukee, it collects in rivers and Lake Michigan sediment, passes into fish and over time presents a risk to people.

"It’s a small amount, but it suggests they have a problem in the process that needs to be rectified," said Michael Carvan, a professor […]

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