On Fri, 10 Nov 2017 10:53:09 -0800, "Cheri" >
wrote:

>"notbob" > wrote in message
...
>>> Wow, I'd not have thought of the goldrush causing mercury issues!
>>
>> Oh, major!
>>
>> I ate some CA crawdad tails waaaay back when, long before I knew.
>> But, mercury poisoning is a major problem in CA. All the mines (and
>> miners)
>> used mercury to separate the gold from the tailings (amalgam).
>>
>> <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amalgam_(chemistry)#Gold_extraction_.28mining.29>
>>
>> I recall then they opened the new San Mateo bridge. They left part of
>> the old SM bridge standing, fer fishermen. They also put up a buncha
>> new "Do Not" signs. The one "Do Not" I mostly recalled was, "Do not
>> eat more than one fish per week". This warning later became SF Bay wide,
>> due to heavy mercury poisoning in the CA Delta.
>>
>> nb
>
>Yep, definitely a problem in the Sacramento River, all the do not signs,
>especially pregnant women and so forth.

But with your background, you probably don't like fish anyway.