The problem: “Alligators in the Okefenokee Swamp had mercury levels that were eight times higher than the other two research sites.” The other locations were Jekyll Island near Brunswick, GA, and Yawkey Wildlife Center, near Georgetown, SC. See Savannah Peat, UGA Today, June 12, 2025, New study shows alligators aren’t all that’s lurking in Georgia’s swamps,

Why this matters: “The presence of mercury in these waters not only impacts the health of the alligator but could have dangerous health effects on the other creatures relying on these waterways for food, including humans.”

Plus mercury comes down from the air not only into the waters where alligators live, but also onto nearby land, such as where the coal miners from Alabama want to strip mine for titanium dioxide (TiO2) too near the Okefenokee Swamp. Such mining could stir up mercury from the soil and get it into water or back into the air. You can still tell the Georgia Environmental Protection Division (GA-EPD) that it should deny the miners’ permit applications:
twinpines.comment@dnr.ga.gov

And also probably where Chemours wants to expand its Trail Ridge South TiO2 mine onto land owned by the Suwannee River Water Management District (SRWMD). The official comment period has expired, but you can still write to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) about the Chemours permit applications:
https://wwals.net/?p=67629

High levels of mercury found in alligators, Okefenokee Swamp, UGA 2025-06-12

Where does the mercury come from? “For instance, precipitation is the dominant source of environmental mercury deposition in other systems, and the hydrology of OS is dominated by precipitation and runoff with an average annual rainfall of 132.23 cm (Brook and Hyatt 1985, Wang et al., 2019, Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge 1945–2021). Okefenokee is also in close proximity to several industrialized power plants, which have the potential to contribute to atmospheric Hg deposition (Porter 2000, Sherman et al., 2012).”

The actual power plants are not named in that paper or its sources, but we know the main culprit: Georgia Power’s Coal Plant Scherer, near Macon, Georgia, according to a 2002 EPA report for the Alapaha River watershed. There is some good news. Since Jacksonville Electric Authority (JEA) and Florida Power and Light (FPL) pulled out of Plant Scherer Unit 4 in 2020, and general decrease in use of coal as a power source, mercury through the air into rivers has decreased. But, “Despite large deposition declines, an end-member scenario for remaining exposures from the largest active power plants for individuals consuming self-caught fish suggests they could still exceed the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency reference dose for methylmercury.”

And old alligators still have large accumulations of mercury. Many fish and other animals probably do, too.

Gator straddling log, Minnies Lake, Middle Fork Suwannee River, Okefenokee Swamp, 11:53:03, –jsq for WWALS 30.8608872, -82.3234103

More:

“That’s one of the results from the study that was most striking to me,” said Jeb Byers, co-author of the study and UGA Athletic Association Professor in the Odum School. “Mercury is a neurotoxin that is very lethal to organisms. If it builds up, it moves through the food web and creates the perfect storm. That’s what we have in the Okefenokee.”

Mercury concentrations in alligators show that the toxin can easily move up the food chain.

Whether it’s gators themselves or the fish they cohabitate with, this study signals caution to any humans who may fish or hunt in the area. Although the Okefenokee Swamp is a wildlife refuge, it shares waters with the Suwannee and St. Marys rivers, which means there may be a heightened risk of mercury contamination in fish and other animals residing in the waters.

“Mercury contamination can be a high concern for the people who can be consuming a lot of fish or game species from the rivers, swamps or oceans that have high mercury. In any given ecosystem, there are some organisms that can tolerate only very little amounts of mercury, which can result in neurological issues, reproductive issues and eventually death,” Zemaitis said.

Their findings are published in Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry, Volume 44, Issue 6, June 2025, Pages 1611–1621, https://doi.org/10.1093/etojnl/vgaf060, Site-specific ontogenetic drivers of mercury concentrations in American alligators, Kristen J Zemaitis, Thomas R Rainwater, Yank Moore, Kimberly M Andrews, Benjamin B Parrott, James E Byers.

Thanks to WWALS Science Committee Chair Dr. Tom Potter for finding this study.

 -jsq, John S. Quarterman, Suwannee RIVERKEEPER®

You can help with clean, swimmable, fishable, drinkable, water in the 10,000-square-mile Suwannee River Basin in Florida and Georgia by becoming a WWALS member today!
https://wwals.net/donations/

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