Potential Human Health Hazard from Discarded AtoN Batteries

National Plan for Aton Battery Recovery and Disposal - index
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health hazard.

As discussed above, batteries in aqueous situations are not expected to result

in measurable levels of mercury in the water column. Thus the only potential

hazard from dissolved mercury would be through ingestion by aquatic organisms

and human consumption of the organisms. The same is true for sediments where

the most critical exposure pathways from sediments to human receptors is

through consumption of aquatic organisms.

The laboratory analysis of batteries indicate the mercury is not in the

available form. This is substantiated by the low percentage of methylmercury

in sediments associated with lighted AtoNs. It is also directly confirmed by

the measurement of low tissue levels of aquatic organisms in the vicinity of

AtoNs.

During the prototype investigation mercury levels in aquatic organisms was

only a fraction of the levels considered by the U.S. Food and Drug

Administration (FDA) to result in a hazard from consumption. During all the

prototype investigations, approximately 200 biological samples were analyzed

for mercury. None of these samples were more than 10 percent of the FDA level

and most were closer to 1 percent. Even this is a very conservative

comparison because only total mercury was measured in the tissue and the FDA

limit is based on methylmercury (which is generally on about 40 to 60 percent

of the total in invertebrate tissue). Consequently consumption of aquatic

organisms from areas around AtoNs is not expected to pose a health hazard to

humans.

Mercury Concentrations in Sediments Associated with AtoNs

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