Is Mercury the Achilles Heel of the Restoration Effort?

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Part 3: Multi-Agency Strategy for Understanding and Solving the Everglades Mercury Problem
	The South Florida Mercury Science Program is a partnership of federal, state, and local agencies and private entities that has combined resources to understand and solve the Everglades mercury problem.
Mercury Problem: Restoration Goal: Very high mercury in the meat, blood, feathers, and fur of some fish, birds, and mammal Concentrations lowered to acceptable risk levels Water Quality Standards inadequate Water Quality Standards revised to be fully protective Uses of resource impaired Full uses of resource restored and standards met
The Research Program:
New Sampling Equipment New Analytical Instruments New Mathematical Models Peat Soil Formation, Composition, and Aging Soil/Sediment Deposition Rates Air Source Emissions, Plume Transport, and Atmospheric Deposition Air/Water, Soil/Water, Air/Plant, Soil/Plant Transfer Groundwater Fluxes EAA Mercury and Sulfur Runoff Concentrations and Loads	Filter Marsh Mass Budgets; Resident Plants and Fish Concentrations Mercury Species Complexation and Precipitation Reactions Elemental Mercury and Methylmercury Production and Destruction Wildlife Feeding Preferences and Rates Aquatic Food Web Bioaccumulation and Biomagnification Wildlife Exposures, Toxicology, and Risks Loads, Concentrations, Risks Status and Trends

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