A U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) proposal to weaken power plant mercury protections drew sharp criticism at a public hearing in Chicago today. The EPA hearing, one of three across the country, was held to solicit public input on several EPA proposed options to address mercury emissions from power plants. The vast majority of the attendees, however, said that EPA's options fall far short of what is needed to protect public health—allowing children to be exposed to far more mercury, for a decade longer than what EPA itself said was achievable.

"The Bush administration is proposing to allow the single largest unregulated source of mercury to continue emitting high levels for at least the next decade," said Rebecca Stanfield, environmental attorney for the Illinois PIRG Education Fund. Stanfield added, "The Bush administration's proposal will leave our children vulnerable to risks of developing problems with walking, talking, and even learning due to exposure to mercury pollution."

Mercury is a highly toxic chemical whose effects on the central nervous system are comparable to those of lead. Exposure to mercury, especially exposure of the developing fetus in the womb, can cause severe neurological and developmental problems that include poor attention span and delayed language development, impaired memory and vision, problems processing information, and impaired fine motor coordination. Electric power plants are the largest uncontrolled source of mercury into the environment.

"The EPA proposal completely fails to protect Illinois families from dangerous mercury exposure," said Illinois Lieutenant Governor Pat Quinn. "The U.S. EPA proposal grossly violates the Illinois Constitution by failing to protect the fundamental right of Illinois citizens to a healthful environment," Quinn said.

Attendees at the hearing were especially concerned with the insufficiencies of EPA's proposals in light of a recent EPA study estimating that more than 600,000 children born in the U.S. each year have been exposed to unsafe levels of mercury in the womb. This number doubled previous estimates of children at risk.

Wisconsin Attorney General Peg Lautenschlager called the Bush administration's proposal "woefully inadequate," urging U.S. EPA to finalize rules that are must more protective of public health. Lautenschlager said, "The theme of my message today to the EPA and to the administration in Washington is that you are proposing standards that are far too little, far too late, and that our citizens, our children, future generations, and our environment deserve far better protection from this poisonous pollution than you are offering today."

Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan said that the Bush administration had been "working overtime to ignore scientific data regarding dangerous toxins and their impact on public health." Attorney General Lisa Madigan added: "By proposing to reverse tough standards to protect the public health from mercury emissions, the Bush administration is ignoring clear and well-established evidence of the harm this toxin causes. This toxin is such a problem in Illinois that the Illinois Department of Public Health has issued a statewide fish consumption advisory, warning that fish from every lake, stream and river may be laced with mercury."

Under the Clean Air Act, toxic substances such as mercury must be controlled to emission levels achievable by "maximum achievable control technologies" (MACT) at each and every power plant. In 2000, the EPA determined that due to the serious health threat posed by mercury, it was required to regulate mercury and other hazardous air pollutants from power plants. In 2001, EPA estimated that, under this standard, available technologies could reduce 90 percent of mercury from power plants, bringing mercury emissions down to roughly 5 tons per year by 2008.

In EPA's recent actions, however, EPA proposes to revoke this MACT determination and allow some power plants to avoid reducing mercury emissions with a "cap and trade" scheme under a section of the Clean Air Act usually reserved for conventional air pollutants. All of EPA's options allow power plants to emit six to seven times more mercury pollution into our airways for a decade longer compared to EPA's 2001 determination.

Illinois EPA Director Renee Cipriano opposed the U.S. EPA scheme, stating: "Illinois believes that MACT should be used to control mercury emissions." Director Cipriano continued, "A 90 percent reduction is both necessary and feasible given the technology available today and the advances anticipated in coming years."

For more information on mercury pollution visit www.cleanairnow.org or www.illinoispirg.org.

- Quote sheet: What Policymakers And Opinion Leaders Are Saying About The U.S. EPA Proposal On Mercury From Power Plants

- Fact sheet: The EPA's Weakening of the Clean Air Act's Mercury Protections (PDF)