How often do environmental stories begin, "The voodoo priest sits in a room lighted by burning candles, where masks and saints, liquor bottles, and a bowl of money are arranged on altars"? Lindy Washburn, with help from Monsy Alvarado and Alex Nussbaum, tells of the many uses of mercury in folk religion and ritual -- uses which are now understood to cause actual poisoning in many cases. Many voodoo priests now understand the dangers of "azogue" and avoid using it. But others do not, and are not even aware of the dangers. Cultural practices are just one of the many ways toxic mercury compounds find there way into the environment, and the Bergen Record's ongoing coverage documents several other common -- and overlooked -- pathways (e.g., medical thermometers dropped on the floor). One estimate put cultural practices on a par with power-plant emissions of mercury as a source going into the sediments of New York Harbor. A lot of that, experts think, was excreted by humans. Mercury vapor in indoor air and elevated blood levels of mercury in children have been found in some New Jersey neighborhoods (see article).