ewilkening99 - Mercury Webquest

Introduction

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) have issued advisories about eating fish. Safeway and Albertsons grocery stores are posting warnings about eating fish in their stores. Your Mom quit serving you tuna sandwiches that you really liked. Your Uncle cancelled a fishing trip you had planned to Pena Blanca Lake.
What is happening to the fish?
Why is it affecting you?
What can you do about it?

Task

Many people don't understand why we have mecury in our food supply and what that means. Your job is to understand the situation and then create a poster that we can use to inform members of community about this situation. Your task will be broken into two parts:

1) You will research the issue with the help of this WebQuest. Each student will answer the questions on the worksheet as part of this research.

2) When you have finished the research, you and a partner will create a poster to inform the public.

Process

PART I WORKSHEET: Here are the questions you will be answering through your research. The websites that will help you find these answers are listed in the left column.

1) Why do we have an increased amount of mercury in our environment? EPA Mercury Background

2) What is the major source of mercury emissions in our country? List the 3 largest contributors of mercury in our atmosphere.
Why Files Background
EPA Mercury Source

3) According to the chart from the USGS, where are the concentrations of mercury emissions the greatest in our country?
Why Files USGS

4) How do people become exposed to mercury? What is methylmercury?
EPA Mercury Exposure

5) What happened in Minamata Japan in the 1950’s?
Why Files Background

6) What are the health effects of mercury?

EPA Mercury Effects

7) What are the EPA recommendations for eating fish?
EPA Advisories

8) Name 3 waterways where the Arizona Game & Fish has issued warnings about eating fish that are caught there. Have you ever fished there or been there?
AZ G&F Advisories

9) What is the EPA doing to reduce mercury emissions? Do you think it is enough?
EPA Action

10) What are 2 ways you as an individual and a consumer can reduce mercury emissions? (Think back to the major source of mercury in our environment in Question #2)
Mercury Reduction Programs

EXTRA Credit Question (5 points)

Explain bioaccumulation of Mercury. You may use a diagram.Why Files Background

PART II WORKSHEET: Students will work in groups of two to create a poster about Mercury in the Enviornoment. The requirements are listed under Evaluation Section.

Evaluation

There will be two grades given for this project.

Part I Worksheet
1) Worksheet (50 points): Each question in this worksheet must be answered in complete sentences. Each question is worth 5 points for a total of 50 points. Every student must hand this in individually.

Part II Poster
2) Poster (50 points). It will be graded as follows:

a) Colorful & Neat (10 points)

b) Pictures included (10 points)

c) It must show the Mercury Cycle and include the following

How does it get into our environment? (5 pts)
How does it get into our food supply? (5 pts)
What are the health effects of ingesting mercury? (5 pts)
What are the EPA recommendations for eating fish? (5 pts)
What are some Arizona waters with fish advisories? (5 pts)
What can we do to reduce Mercury in our environment? (5 pts)

Conclusion

I hope you learned a little more about mercury emissions in our environment. There are many things that you as an individual can do to help. It may start with reducing your power consumption, participating in a recycling program, or contacting a legislator on relevant legislation. It's important to remember how everything is interconnected. What you do can help or it can hurt. You make the choice.

Credits

Images were obtained from the following sources: