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Bay Area
Clearlake: The Healing Begins
by Russell Anderson
Up and down the West Coast, there is evidence of California’s special place within the historical framework of mainland America. With a long line of volcanic hot spots and earthquake fault lines, there also comes a more ancient reference to California’s uniqueness on the continent. Aquifers, the way the earth stores water underground, are showing us why certain ranges in the world, such as in California, have continued to serve and feed the hearts, minds and bodies of its people for thousands of years. Nowhere is this relationship more evident than at Clearlake in Northern California.
Clearlake lies about 100 miles northeast of San Francisco and is adjacent to the extinct volcano, Mt. Konocti. Some say that it may be the oldest lake in the northern hemisphere. It is also the home to an immense source for blue green algae. Although it has an average depth of only twenty-three feet, the lake has a sediment level that is approximately four miles deep. This sediment, created by algae growth as well as natural runoff from hills and mountains, has been accumulating for some four million years. Like a giant circulatory system, its aquifers feed into streams and rivers that eventually flow into the Sacramento Valley, Napa Valley and the San Francisco Bay.
There is, however, a threat that jeopardizes this precious system. Clearlake’s exceptional organic sediment also contains an abundance of sulfur and mercury that is putting living things in the surrounding area, including humans, at risk. As a result of mining, especially from the now-abandoned Sulfur Bank Mercury Mine, mercury has been leeching into the lake since the turn of the last century. In addition, toxic methyl mercury has been forming in the lake for just as long from a combination of mercury, organic materials and sulfates.
The effects of these substances on the local food chain have been devastating. Mercury will affect the neurological system of any organism. Cancer, brain tumors, mental retardation, autism and autoimmune disorders are strongly connected to mercury intake. When mercury enters the fatty acids of the body, it becomes trapped. The trapped metal vibrates at a lower level than the body and as a result, the body’s water system will not hold a critical charge. A body overloaded with mercury becomes much more susceptible to bacteria, viruses, cancers and, ultimately, death.
A large percentage of mercury in the environment is naturally occurring as a byproduct of the de-gassing of the earth’s crust. This process, coupled with human interference such as mining and agricultural runoff, has created an environment in crisis at Clearlake. At the heart of the problem lies the polluted blue-green algae. Fish eat the mercury-contaminated algae and are then consumed by people in the communities around the lake. Clearlake is home to the Elem tribe. Their reservation is adjacent to the property that houses the Sulfur Bank Mine. The area around Clearlake is currently so high in pollutants that the EPA has issued advisories about the consumption of fish in the area. These advisories also includes Cache Creek and Bear Creek, which are thought to be connected to Clearlake’s four miles of sediment and underground aquifers.
In January of 2002, the Sacramento Bee reported a growing amount of methyl mercury in the Sacramento Valley. Large amounts of this deadly gas were reported coming from Cashe Creek, Bear Creek and Anderson Creek. When rains come, the methyl mercury is swept into the Sacramento River and ultimately into the San Francisco Bay. There are many theories about why the population residing in Marin County along the Sacramento River is now reported as having the highest breast cancer rate in the country. One cause could be mercury and this mercury could be linked to Clearlake. One has only to talk to a member of the Elem tribe or other long-term residents of Clearlake to hear about major health issues that are occurring in higher rates in that area. In addition, in January of 2007 the Lake County News and others reported that over five thousand sediment-diving ducks had died as a result of aviarian cholera. Although authorities contend that the disease is common in winter months in California, another factor could be mercury and its immune-compromising effects.
Clearlake has been the subject of intense research begun by the EPA in conjunction with UC Davis over a decade ago. This research confirmed that the process of mercury contamination is bio-accumulative (i.e. mercury concentrations elevate over time). In the early 1990s, a “Superfund” was established by the EPA to deal with cleanup at Clearlake, specifically at the mine. The EPA and UC Davis studies show a 24 percent increase in mercury in the last ten years. Some scientists, including those at the EPA, have proposed that capping the Sulphur Bank Mercury Mine (putting a concrete or bentonite surface over the mine grounds) would solve the problem. Other scientists, such as Dr. Alex Horn of UC Berkely, disagree. One thing is certain—the contamination at Clearlake is increasing with time and is proving to be one of California’s greatest ecological disasters. Yet it is not the only one. Besides Clearlake, nine Bay Area reservoirs have recently been identified as having excessive amounts of mercury.
With years of study and little being done, we have found that public awareness about Clearlake is vital. We have set up a non-profit organization, the Voice Stream Society, that will begin this awareness program. We are also developing a powerful documentary about the issue. In educating oneself and others about what is happening at one of the country’s oldest lakes, the opportunity exists for people in California to help heal others
the world over.
For more information, contact The Voice Stream Society 14020 184th St. NE, Woodinville, WA 98072 or visit www.clearlakedocumentary.com. Russell Anderson has been educating people about Clearlake for the last fifteen years. He can be contacted at clearlake444@hotmail.com or by calling 949.419.6983.