Mercury Dogs of the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency

Stefan Sunblad has worked with the mercury dog Froy for two years. Froy's nose can sniff out parts humans can't reach. Nothing is left unchecked.The dogs can detect tiny amounts - unless its very cold. Below 15 centigrade mercury gives off less scent.

Mercury Dogs of the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency Female: Used in many everyday items. Mercury is one of the world’s most poisonous substances. So laboratory stuff and others treat it with care but it still escapes into the environment. Kristina von Rein: What you can see in Sweden and nearly almost all of Sweden has heightened levels of mercury like in the soil and in the waters. And you can also see that many seas which have fish, the fish have a lot higher levels of mercury and it’s not good to eat that fish. Female: Concerned by the health risk of mercury pollution, the Swedish government backs a campaign to ban all mercury products. Finding hidden mercury is the hardest challenge but the environmental protection agency has a special weapon. Kristina von Rein: If you’ll use it like in a laboratory instrument and you’re a human person, you go around and look and measure where you think they will find it but these dogs go into the room and they really search and find where the mercury is. Female: Stefan Sunblad has worked with the mercury dog Froy for two years. Stefan: Froy is now five and half years and he's worked with mercury since he was two years old. Female: Labradors and German sheep dogs like Froy are especially good at tracing mercury. Stefan: We've visited sixty to seventy schools in a period of 10 weeks. Female: At Ostra Real Secondary School in Stockholm the hunt begins in the chemistry labs. Stefan: Hello, this is Froy. Female: Students can't resist stroking Froy, so the class is evacuated so he isn't distracted. But before Froy can start sniffing Stefan makes sure there's nothing harmful in the room. Then off comes the dog collar and Froy is ready to go. Froy's nose can sniff out parts humans can't reach. Nothing is left unchecked. Cupboards, floor drains and sink u-bends are all suspect. The dogs can detect tiny amounts - unless it’s very cold. Anne Lucero: Froy has found maybe a few grams total. Well, I didn’t expect it and now a surprise because this is an old school and these things have not been redone for many years. I mean mercury in school was about 14 kilograms but we had emptied all that out before he got here. That was in instruments mainly. Female: The Environment Agency pays for the sniffers but it's up to the school to pay for disposal of any mercury Froy finds. It's cheap and trouble free compared to the alternative of emptying every suspect sink. En route to his next job Froy still finds time to whistle at a passing bitch. Stefan: Hello Kristina von Rein: Hello, welcome. Stefan: Thank you very much. Kristina von Rein: Nice to meet you. Female: Finally they reach their destination, the hospital. Checking hospitals is harder than checking schoolrooms. To do it properly can take a couple of weeks. Sometimes allergic patients have to be moved. But Froy is usually well received. To date, Froy and Stefan have checked over 25 hospitals. Kristina von Rein: He's found something. Yeah. Female: But surely there's a risk to Froy sniffing all this mercury? Kristina von Rein: Well, the dogs have a trainer with them and he looks to make sure that he's putting his nose in the mercury actually so they’re not allowed to getting like really contact with it and at the dogs training school, they have made measurements with the dogs continuously to see that the dogs are not getting any mercury in the in the blood and urine. Female: Froy is often asked to check old factory sites. Stefan: So okay Froy this old lightbulb factory is the last stop today. Lightbulbs contain mercury, so there's high risk mercury is hidden in walls or under floorboards. So far Froy and his companion have recovered more than 1300 kilos. The Agency reckons using dogs has saved Sweden up to five million dollars in lower contamination costs. Froy's day is finished but at Hundskolan, Humanity Dog School, a new batch of puppies are waiting to learn his tricks. It's a long process. At just eight weeks they're sent out to families and spend the next few months learning how to live with people. When they return they face a series of rigorous behaviour tests. Mattias Westerlund: After 15 months we call them back to the school here to do a behaviour tests. After we have done the behaviour test on our dogs then we see what purpose we’ll lay fit in for, maybe they will become a mine detection dog or a mercury dog. Female: This test checks how a dog copes with fear and how easily it's distracted from its task. In this case finding its trainer. Only half the dogs will pass all the tests necessary to qualify for the next eight months of training. Not just how to use their noses but as ambassadors for a better environment. Kristina von Rein: What I think is really great using these dogs is that Swedish people love dogs, so dogs open hearts. They have been spreading information about the environment and in particular about mercury.