07-30-2004, 08:56 PM
Released:
Friday, July 16, 2004
Members of the Mercury-Free Minnesota Campaign came to Duluth on Wednesday to call for greater reductions of the toxic element.
With a huge inflated largemouth bass and Lake Superior as a backdrop, they called on Sen. Norm Coleman to use whatever influence he has with President Bush to tighten limits on mercury emissions being proposed for power-generation plants.
The tougher limits are needed "to protect all of us in Minnesota and the Midwest from mercury poisoning," said Clean Water Action Alliance organizer Rosie Loeffler-Kemp.
Coal-burning power plants are America's largest industrial source of mercury, emitting an estimated 48 tons of mercury annually.
Mercury that settles on water can be converted by bacteria into a more toxic form, methylmercury, which accumulates in fish. Eating too many mercury-laden fish can damage kidneys, the heart, and the immunity and nervous systems.
Mercury in fish and seafood is of special concern to children or women who are pregnant, nursing or may become pregnant because it can affect the developing brain and nervous system of their children.
"I am six months pregnant, and I'm concerned about the health of my baby," speaker Kris Schneeweis of Duluth said. "Fish is supposed to be brain food and good for my child, but I'm afraid to eat fish from Minnesota's lakes and rivers knowing that the entire state is under serious mercury advisory alerts."
As many as 60,000 American children annually may develop neurological problems, including learning disabilities, because of low-level mercury contamination through their mother prior to birth, found an 18-month study by the National Academy of Sciences released in 2000.
The EPA is developing rules to limit power plant mercury emissions. The agency already has cut emissions of airborne mercury by more than 90 percent from other large industrial sources, including municipal waste combustors and medical waste incinerators.
For power plants, however, the president has proposed a rule that would require about a 70 percent reduction by 2018. Mercury-Free Minnesota is calling for a 90 percent reduction by 2010.
"The Bush administration should stop listening to the polluters and start protecting our children's health and the environment," said Carin Skoog, National Environmental Trust Minnesota representative. "We want to know if Sen. Coleman is going to... demand that the EPA start protecting the health of all Minnesotans."
The EPA recently finished taking public comments on the issue. It's expected to release its final rules next year.
In a statement, Coleman noted that he successfully sought an extension of the EPA's public comment period so Minnesotans's concerns could be heard.
Coleman added that he's pleased Minnesota utilities are voluntarily working to reduce mercury.
"We know there is a way to reduce mercury emissions while sustaining and growing jobs in our state, and I will continue to press EPA to work towards that end," he said.
But drastic reductions in the amount of mercury coming from American power plants doesn't mean the amount of mercury falling on America will decrease that much, said Mike Miller, vice president of the Electric Power Research Institute, a nonprofit research and development organization funded primarily by power companies.
"Seventy-five percent of the mercury being deposited in the U.S. is coming from overseas because there is so much being generated over there," he said.
Miller added that it has not been demonstrated that it's possible to reduce mercury emissions from all power plants by 90 percent for any length of time.
Duluth was the second Minnesota stop for the inflated bass, which the National Environmental Trust is taking around the country to raise awareness about mercury. Campaign members spent the day along Duluth's Lakewalk handing out literature and postcards addressed to Coleman.
[signature]
Friday, July 16, 2004
Members of the Mercury-Free Minnesota Campaign came to Duluth on Wednesday to call for greater reductions of the toxic element.
With a huge inflated largemouth bass and Lake Superior as a backdrop, they called on Sen. Norm Coleman to use whatever influence he has with President Bush to tighten limits on mercury emissions being proposed for power-generation plants.
The tougher limits are needed "to protect all of us in Minnesota and the Midwest from mercury poisoning," said Clean Water Action Alliance organizer Rosie Loeffler-Kemp.
Coal-burning power plants are America's largest industrial source of mercury, emitting an estimated 48 tons of mercury annually.
Mercury that settles on water can be converted by bacteria into a more toxic form, methylmercury, which accumulates in fish. Eating too many mercury-laden fish can damage kidneys, the heart, and the immunity and nervous systems.
Mercury in fish and seafood is of special concern to children or women who are pregnant, nursing or may become pregnant because it can affect the developing brain and nervous system of their children.
"I am six months pregnant, and I'm concerned about the health of my baby," speaker Kris Schneeweis of Duluth said. "Fish is supposed to be brain food and good for my child, but I'm afraid to eat fish from Minnesota's lakes and rivers knowing that the entire state is under serious mercury advisory alerts."
As many as 60,000 American children annually may develop neurological problems, including learning disabilities, because of low-level mercury contamination through their mother prior to birth, found an 18-month study by the National Academy of Sciences released in 2000.
The EPA is developing rules to limit power plant mercury emissions. The agency already has cut emissions of airborne mercury by more than 90 percent from other large industrial sources, including municipal waste combustors and medical waste incinerators.
For power plants, however, the president has proposed a rule that would require about a 70 percent reduction by 2018. Mercury-Free Minnesota is calling for a 90 percent reduction by 2010.
"The Bush administration should stop listening to the polluters and start protecting our children's health and the environment," said Carin Skoog, National Environmental Trust Minnesota representative. "We want to know if Sen. Coleman is going to... demand that the EPA start protecting the health of all Minnesotans."
The EPA recently finished taking public comments on the issue. It's expected to release its final rules next year.
In a statement, Coleman noted that he successfully sought an extension of the EPA's public comment period so Minnesotans's concerns could be heard.
Coleman added that he's pleased Minnesota utilities are voluntarily working to reduce mercury.
"We know there is a way to reduce mercury emissions while sustaining and growing jobs in our state, and I will continue to press EPA to work towards that end," he said.
But drastic reductions in the amount of mercury coming from American power plants doesn't mean the amount of mercury falling on America will decrease that much, said Mike Miller, vice president of the Electric Power Research Institute, a nonprofit research and development organization funded primarily by power companies.
"Seventy-five percent of the mercury being deposited in the U.S. is coming from overseas because there is so much being generated over there," he said.
Miller added that it has not been demonstrated that it's possible to reduce mercury emissions from all power plants by 90 percent for any length of time.
Duluth was the second Minnesota stop for the inflated bass, which the National Environmental Trust is taking around the country to raise awareness about mercury. Campaign members spent the day along Duluth's Lakewalk handing out literature and postcards addressed to Coleman.
[signature]