The Great Lakes Zephyr - Wind Energy & Hydrogen Journal

Illinois PIRG asks you to help reduce mercury pollution

Dear Illinois PIRG supporter,

On December 30, the EPA released its weak proposal to reduce the danger posed by mercury from power plants. 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.

On January 30, a sixty day public comment period started, giving the public the chance to officially weigh in on this proposal. This is our best chance yet to show the Bush administration that they should act without further delay to cut mercury emissions from power plants by 90 percent by 2008.

Please take a moment to let the EPA know you support reducing mercury pollution by participating in the official comment period. Then ask your family and friends to help by forwarding this e-mail to them.

To take action, click on this link or paste it into your web browser:
http://pirg.org/alerts/route.asp?id=223&id4=ES


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 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 age 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 30, the EPA's initial weak proposal to reduce the danger posed by mercury from power plants was released. 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 a sixty day public comment period on the EPA proposal starts. This is our chance to show the Bush administration that they should act without further delay to cut mercury emissions from power plants by 90 percent by 2008.

Please take a moment to let the EPA know you support reducing mercury pollution by participating in the official comment period. Then ask your family and friends to help by forwarding this e-mail to them.

To take action, click on this link or paste it into your web browser:
http://pirg.org/alerts/route.asp?id=223&id4=ES

Sincerely,

Diane E. Brown
Illinois PIRG Executive Director
DianeB@illinoispirg.org
http://www.IllinoisPIRG.org

P.S. Thanks again for your support. Please feel free to share this e-mail with your family and friends.