1.   A new Finnish study shows that mercury levels in hair can predict heart-disease risk.

2.   In previous studies, researchers blamed emissions from industrial plants near Augusta for elevated mercury levels in fish in creeks on the Savannah River Site in South Carolina.

3.   In salt water, the most voracious predatory fish seem to have the worst mercury levels, scientists agree.

4.   Initial test results on tons of waste dumped in Cambodia by a Taiwanese company indicate that the mercury level was thousands of times higher than safety standards permit.

5.   Mercury also harms fish-eating wildlife, such as bald eagles, many of which have elevated mercury levels in their blood, studies have shown.

6.   Most researchers agree that mercury levels in the environment and the fish we eat have increased dramatically as a result of human activities.

7.   PISCES was established to study mercury levels in coal and in the exhaust of coal-fired plants.

8.   Programs are under way to reduce mercury exposure there by encouraging consumption of fish species with lower mercury levels.

9.   Tests in most states have found fish with elevated mercury levels.

10.   Tests in most states have found some fish with elevated mercury levels, especially the larger predatory fish most prized by sportsmen.