Crazy ‘bout Mercury
Paul Bugas

Mercury is a fascinating element that is found naturally in the earth’s crust, primarily as cinnabar ore. Half of the world’s supply of mercury is mined in Spain and Slovenia, where when heated in a current of air, it is vaporized into the form we are familiar with: quicksilver. Its chemical symbol, Hg, originates from the Greek word hydragyros (water silver). As we all know, it was named after the Roman god Mercury, who was known for his speed and mobility. Eventually, mankind found many uses for various forms of mercury. Ancient Chinese believed its topical and internal use promoted good health and prolonged life. In fact, Lewis and Clarke took mercury pills with them on their Corps of Discovery to deal with venereal disease. Until it was used in an industrial manner for tanning fur pelts to make felt hats in the 1800’s did physicians take notice of its deleterious effects on human health. Remember the Mad Hatter in Alice in Wonderland? He was symbolic of many in the felt hat trade, who often hallucinated and developed nervous problems from mercury poisoning.

Quicksilver persists in today’s environment, albeit in different forms. It can be found in the most remote corners of the world, carried by winds and upper level air currents. The major source of airborne mercury: coal fired power plants. Closer to home, mercuric sulfate was used to produce acetate at the DuPont plant in Waynesboro from 1929 – 1950. Waste from this process ended up in South River, where it persists today 128 river miles downstream of Waynesboro. Once in an aquatic environment, mercury again changes forms, enters the food web, and biomagnifies as it makes its way into the fish we eat. In order to avoid human health problems such as nervous disorders, a fish consumption advisory was placed on South River in the mid-1970’s.

What does all this have to do with Trinitarians, especially if you don’t fish? Recently, a parishioner approached me and asked if the Environmental Stewardship Committee would look into recycling alkaline batteries. You know: the AAA, AA, C, D, and 9-volt disposables that run our small electronics? These batteries contain a small amount of mercury, and other metals, that usually end up the landfill. Once their casing breaks down, these trace elements can find their way into the leachate (garbage juice), then eventually groundwater.

Here’s what we are going to try. Trinity Church will purchase two “Big Green Boxes” that are designed to collect batteries (alkaline, nickel, cadmium, lithium, etc.), cell phones, pagers, MP3 players, cameras, hand-held gaming devices, and calculators. These boxes will be strategically placed in Trinity Church and McCracken Hall for your convenience. Bring in your batteries and, when the box is full, we will ship it to a recycling plant in Ohio. This facility will strip the metals out of these items and recycle them for future use. It’s a win-win for us and the environment…plus, no more Mad Hatters to put up with. Tea anyone?