Tracking Mercury Contamination Of The Penobscot River

A 2018 map of mercury found in the sediment of the Penobscot River and parts of upper Penobscot Bay that is part of the Penobscot River Mercury Study shows that the greatest concentrations of elevated levels of mercury are found in Orrington, where the chlor-alkali plant was located, Bucksport, Verona Island and Mendall Marsh in Frankfort. On the map, dots indicating the presence of mercury travel upriver from the now-defunct Holtra-Chem site all the way to Eddington. The factory, which had several owners from 1967 to 2000, supplied paper mills with chlorine and other chemicals.