November 26, 2013 — Mercury levels in American women of childbearing age have dropped about one-third over a decade, a new federal study shows.
It’s likely the trend can be attributed to women making more informed choices about what types of seafood are safer to eat, health officials said.
An analysis of national data found that blood mercury levels among women in this age group dropped 34 percent between 1999 and 2010, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
The EPA also found that the percentage of women of childbearing age with blood mercury levels above the “level of concern” fell 65 percent during the study period.
Even so, there was little change in the amount of fish eaten by women between 1999 and 2010. The decrease in mercury levels suggests that women may have started eating types of fish with lower mercury levels, the EPA said in an agency news release.