From PennEnvironment (http://www.pennenvironment.org):
There could be a lot more mercury pollution coming our way soon.
Late last month, the Environmental Protection Agency released a proposal to weaken limits on mercury pollution from power plants.1
Go to https://pennenvironment.webaction.org/p/dia/action4/common/public/?action_KEY=30265 to tell the EPA: Don’t weaken mercury protections.
Mercury is a potent neurotoxicant and can do severe damage to children’s developing brains. Exposure can cause irreversible deficits in verbal skills, damage to attention and motor control, and reduced IQ.2
Yet for decades, we allowed mercury to pour from the smokestacks of coal-fired power plants, where it then settled into nearby lakes and rivers. Mercury is so toxic that even a fraction of an ounce makes fish unsafe to eat, and not too long ago, nearly every state had advisory health warnings against eating local fish due to mercury contamination.3
That’s why, in 2011, PennEnvironment and our national network campaigned for stronger protections on mercury emissions from power plants. Joining us were 907,000 Americans who submitted public comments on those protections.4
The mercury rule protects our health. Tell the EPA not to weaken it.
Right now, the EPA is required to take comments from the public on this pollution rollback. This is our chance to stand up for our water and our health. Add your name today.
- Umair Irfan, “The EPA wants to make it harder to ratchet down toxic chemicals from power plants,” Vox, December 28, 2018.
- “America’s Biggest Mercury Polluters: How Cleaning up the Dirtiest Power Plants will Protect Public Health,” Environment America Research & Policy Center, November 2011.
- “America’s Biggest Mercury Polluters: How Cleaning up the Dirtiest Power Plants will Protect Public Health,” Environment America Research & Policy Center, November 2011.
- “President Obama & EPA Protect Public Health, Announce Landmark Mercury Standard for Power Plants,” Environment America, December 21, 2011.
Leave a Reply