Reducing Mercury Levels in Great Lakes Fish Consumers in Minnesota

In October 2012, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) awarded a Great Lakes Restoration Initiative (GLRI) grant to the Minnesota Department of Health Fish Consumption Advisory Program.  The grant project, formally titled, Reducing Mercury Levels in Great Lakes Fish Consumers in Minnesota will be known as the Fish are Important for Superior Health (FISH) Project.

The grant was awarded for the development, implementation and evaluation of a preventive care intervention to reduce mercury exposure in women of child-bearing age.

The project will:

• Adapt and deliver healthcare provider continuing education about risks and benefits of eating fish.
• Perform a clinical intervention with women of child bearing age in Cook County, Minnesota.
• Develop more effective fish consumption advisories.

The work supported by the grant will build on the "Mercury in Newborns in the Lake Superior Basin" study completed in 2011 whose results showed that ten percent of Minnesota newborns tested had mercury levels higher than those recommended as safe by EPA.

• Mercury in Newborns in the Lake Superior Basin

Partners in the Fish are Important for Superior Health (FISH) Project.

• Sawtooth Mountain Clinic in Grand Marais.
• Grand Portage Health Service.
• Grand Portage Trust Lands.
• Cook County North Shore Hospital.
• Minnesota Department of Health.