So far, over 4,400 people across the country have asked the EPA and the White House to reduce the danger that mercury from power plants poses to women of childbearing age, pregnant women, infants and toddlers. In addition, more than 150 people have written a letter to the editor to be printed in their local paper in support of reducing mercury pollution.
Background
Mercury is a dangerous toxic metal that can cause severe neurological and developmental problems in unborn fetuses and very young children whose brains are still developing. People are exposed to mercury mainly by eating fish. The EPA, FDA and forty-three states have now issued advisories warning people, especially women and children, to avoid or limit eating local fish because of mercury. But even with these warnings, the Centers For Disease Control and Prevention estimate that 1 out of 12 U.S. women of childbearing years have unsafe levels of mercury in their blood due to fish consumption.
The best way to protect women and children from mercury is to eliminate it from its largest source: power plants.
Smokestacks spew mercury pollution into the air, where it rains and snows down into our waterways, accumulating in fish and making them unsafe to eat. Amazingly, power plants have yet to be regulated for mercury pollution under federal clean air standards.
After years of work by us and other public health advocates, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is now under a deadline to reduce the dangers of mercury from power plants.
Two years ago, the EPA's own scientists said current technologies could achieve a 90 percent reduction of mercury from power plants. But the electric and coal industries are pressing hard to avoid limiting their mercury emissions.
On December 2, the EPA's initial proposal to reduce the danger posed by mercury from power plants became public. Instead of protecting mothers and children from mercury poisoning, this proposal protects the energy industry by setting targets so weak that the industry will be allowed to continue polluting without using state of the art mercury controls.
While the Bush administration seems to be acting contrary to public health and the prevailing science, all hope is not lost. Part of the Bush administration's decision may be based on the fact that they're hearing only from the big polluters affected by the rule, not the public who will be left at risk. Now is our time to show the Bush administration that they should act without further delay to cut mercury emissions from power plants by 90 percent by 2008.
Here are three things you can do to help:
1. If you haven't let the EPA and the White House know that you support reducing mercury pollution, then please take a moment to do so.
To send an e-mail, click on this link or paste it into your web browser:
http://pirg.org/alerts/route.asp?id=223&id4=ES
2. Ask your family and friends to help by forwarding this to them.
3. Write a letter to the editor to be published in your local paper calling on the Bush administration to act without further delay to cut mercury emissions from power plants by 90 percent by 2008.
To write a letter to the editor, click on this link or paste it into your web browser: http://pirg.org/alerts/route.asp?id=350&id4=ES
Thanks again for your support!
Sincerely,
Gene Karpinski
U.S. PIRG Executive Director
GeneK@uspirg.org
http://www.USPIRG.org
Please also see:
The Evil Mercury Molecule = Slow Death
Reprinted from Acres USA November 2003 Vol. 33, No. 11;
http://www.rense.com/general46/merc2.htm
Background
Mercury is a dangerous toxic metal that can cause severe neurological and developmental problems in unborn fetuses and very young children whose brains are still developing. People are exposed to mercury mainly by eating fish. The EPA, FDA and forty-three states have now issued advisories warning people, especially women and children, to avoid or limit eating local fish because of mercury. But even with these warnings, the Centers For Disease Control and Prevention estimate that 1 out of 12 U.S. women of childbearing years have unsafe levels of mercury in their blood due to fish consumption.
The best way to protect women and children from mercury is to eliminate it from its largest source: power plants.
Smokestacks spew mercury pollution into the air, where it rains and snows down into our waterways, accumulating in fish and making them unsafe to eat. Amazingly, power plants have yet to be regulated for mercury pollution under federal clean air standards.
After years of work by us and other public health advocates, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is now under a deadline to reduce the dangers of mercury from power plants.
Two years ago, the EPA's own scientists said current technologies could achieve a 90 percent reduction of mercury from power plants. But the electric and coal industries are pressing hard to avoid limiting their mercury emissions.
On December 2, the EPA's initial proposal to reduce the danger posed by mercury from power plants became public. Instead of protecting mothers and children from mercury poisoning, this proposal protects the energy industry by setting targets so weak that the industry will be allowed to continue polluting without using state of the art mercury controls.
While the Bush administration seems to be acting contrary to public health and the prevailing science, all hope is not lost. Part of the Bush administration's decision may be based on the fact that they're hearing only from the big polluters affected by the rule, not the public who will be left at risk. Now is our time to show the Bush administration that they should act without further delay to cut mercury emissions from power plants by 90 percent by 2008.
Here are three things you can do to help:
1. If you haven't let the EPA and the White House know that you support reducing mercury pollution, then please take a moment to do so.
To send an e-mail, click on this link or paste it into your web browser:
http://pirg.org/alerts/route.asp?id=223&id4=ES
2. Ask your family and friends to help by forwarding this to them.
3. Write a letter to the editor to be published in your local paper calling on the Bush administration to act without further delay to cut mercury emissions from power plants by 90 percent by 2008.
To write a letter to the editor, click on this link or paste it into your web browser: http://pirg.org/alerts/route.asp?id=350&id4=ES
Thanks again for your support!
Sincerely,
Gene Karpinski
U.S. PIRG Executive Director
GeneK@uspirg.org
http://www.USPIRG.org
Please also see:
The Evil Mercury Molecule = Slow Death
Reprinted from Acres USA November 2003 Vol. 33, No. 11;
http://www.rense.com/general46/merc2.htm