by Daniel Walsh, The Experss-Times

Bethlehem Apparatus Co., which bills itself as the world's largest mercury recycler, will import the shipment from the now-closed HoltraChem Manufacturing Co. in Orrington, Maine.

Environmentalists across the globe have targeted and continue to track the shipment, criticizing it as an example of a "toxic trade" that dumps hazardous materials in poor, developing countries.

Mercury is a heavy metal that can be highly toxic to humans and the environment.

Environmentalists raised a furor when HoltraChem attempted to ship 20 tons of mercury to India.

The Indian government aborted the shipment, but not before activists in the United States and overseas criticized the transaction as an example of U.S. dumping of toxic materials in underdeveloped countries.

The clash underscored the differences in philosophy between Maine environmental regulators who considered it hazardous waste and federal regulators who considered the mercury a commodity.

Because there is no EPA-approved method of permanently storing mercury, the federal government has promoted reuse, or recycling, to avoid further mining of mercury in other parts of the world.

Currently, the Environmental Protection Agency classifies mercury that is 99 percent pure as a commodity that can be bought and sold on the international market.

But that doesn't ease the fears of local environmentalists who are keeping a close eye on the shipment.

"I have no reason to think that, with the proper permits, this is any different than shipping sulfuric acid," said Dave McGuire, a chemist and chairman of the Lehigh Valley Sierra Club. "Now that we've certified that (mercury) is a problem, the key is to get this out. It's no different from what's been already happening, except for the philosophical opposition to using mercury."

Officials at Bethlehem Apparatus, which sits along the Saucon Creek, said the company has been recycling mercury for years without any problems with environmental regulatory agencies.

But the Pennsylvania Environmental Network has quietly begun an informational campaign via e-mail targeting the shipment and the use of mercury.

"There's now a growing recognition that the growing toxic trade needs to end, that mercury is not a commodity like potatoes, but a hazardous material we need to phase out," said Mike Belliveau of the Natural Resources Council of Maine.

Any chance of this shipment finding its way to a developing country may have already been eliminated, said John Boyle, administrative and environmental manager for Bethlehem Apparatus.

Boyle said once the mercury is recycled, it likely will be sent to an American chemical company.

It likely will be shipped from Maine to Hellertown via truck, he said.

Sources of mercury pollution can include incinerated thermometers, switches and fluorescent lights, along with fossil fuel power plants and manufacturers such as HoltraChem.

Mercury accumulates in the tissues of fish inhabiting mercury-contaminated waters and may be carried up the food chain to humans.

A Centers for Disease Control report released last week found about 10 percent of American women have such high levels of mercury that they're at risk of having neurologically impaired children.

Boyle said the use of mercury has waned for several years due to advances in technology and increased environmental awareness.

"U.S. companies have been phasing it out for some time," Boyle said. "That's what happened with HoltraChem shutting down."

The Maine plant shut down last September after coming under fire because of mercury emissions.

Boyle said that mercury in its elemental form, such as that being shipped to Bethlehem Apparatus, does not mix with water because it has not yet been oxidized, thus preventing it from contaminating waterways and fish.

He said most mercury contamination comes via air pollution, not from elemental mercury.

"Eighty to 85 percent comes from utilities, primarily from air pollution, much from coal-fired plants," Boyle said.

Maine's Belliveau disagreed with the potential for pollution via elemental mercury, saying any of it could be converted into the dangerous methylmercury.

"Any inorganic mercury has potential to be converted into methylmercury," Belliveau said. "Over time, all of that will be converted into methylmercury because it washes into wetlands, waterways and other areas."

Bill Tomayko, a spokesman for the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection, said the transportation of the mercury shipment will be monitored. He noted it is perfectly legal.

"Mercury itself is a commodity," said Tomayko. "People are free to market it. It's considered a hazardous material in the state of Pennsylvania. To transport it, there are federal transportation regulations."

A representative for HoltraChem could not be reached for comment Tuesday.