Monday, March 27, 2006
Mercury 8/7/05
How can an administration that professes to value every life, turn on unborn children in this way?
Did you know that Mercury is a potent neurotoxin that has been shown, even in minute doses, to seriously harm young children? The largest source of mercury in our environment is emissions from coal-fired power plants. Incredibly, this administration now wants to relax the rules and allow these plants to continue polluting our environment with high levels of mercury.
Pregnant or nursing women, childbearing aged women, and children are now advised not to eat ANY of the high-mercury fish species such as tilefish, shark and swordfish, and no more than two servings of other types of fish (such as tuna) per week. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, one in 12 women of childbearing age currently has a mercury level in her blood that is unsafe for a developing fetus!!
Yet in response to this widespread public health threat, this Administration has proposed a ten-year delay in implementing regulations designed to cut mercury emissions by 90 percent. They also want to remove coal-fired power plants from the list of mercury sources that can be regulated under the Clean Air Act. In response, Senators Snowe and Leahy have introduced a bipartisan resolution of disapproval to prevent these proposals from going forward.
Did you know that Mercury is a potent neurotoxin that has been shown, even in minute doses, to seriously harm young children? The largest source of mercury in our environment is emissions from coal-fired power plants. Incredibly, this administration now wants to relax the rules and allow these plants to continue polluting our environment with high levels of mercury.
Pregnant or nursing women, childbearing aged women, and children are now advised not to eat ANY of the high-mercury fish species such as tilefish, shark and swordfish, and no more than two servings of other types of fish (such as tuna) per week. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, one in 12 women of childbearing age currently has a mercury level in her blood that is unsafe for a developing fetus!!
Yet in response to this widespread public health threat, this Administration has proposed a ten-year delay in implementing regulations designed to cut mercury emissions by 90 percent. They also want to remove coal-fired power plants from the list of mercury sources that can be regulated under the Clean Air Act. In response, Senators Snowe and Leahy have introduced a bipartisan resolution of disapproval to prevent these proposals from going forward.
# posted by Florence Vincent @ 4:51 PM 
