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Forest fires pump more mercury in to the atmosphere

31/Aug/2006: As wild forest fires fuelled by warmer climate, rage across the world, they are unleashing the mercury that has polluted the wetlands of North America from the time of ‘Industrial Revolution’.

Wild fires in the wetland of North America release levels of mercury that is 15 times greater than the levels released by other forest fires across the continent. Researchers have concluded that the warming climate in this region is making the wetlands more and more vulnerable to forest fires.

Mercury in the atmosphere causes damage to the brain and leads to birth defects. Alaska and Western Canada witnessed the worst forest fires in their history in 2004 and 2005 and wild fires have become more frequent and intense in this region, in the last few decades. Climate change has made the northern forests and wetlands drier, leaving them vulnerable to forest fires in the years to come.

A research team comprising of members from the United States and Canadian Governments have measured the mercury stored in the soil and vegetation of the Western Canadian forests and peat lands and studied the natural fires in this region for a period of five years.

They took sample of smoke plumes to ascertain the level of mercury in the atmosphere as the infernos raged. Based on the data they have collected they developed a fire emission model that suggest more mercury is being released in to the atmosphere by the wildfires in the northern forests and wetlands, than the previous estimates.

The findings of this research team indicate that the administration in this region needs to monitor the mercury level in atmosphere after wildfires and initiate necessary actions accordingly to protect the people living in this region from the effects of higher concentration of mercury in the air.

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