Letter: Berkley fighting hard to reduce mercury pollution

Wednesday, June 30, 2004 | 11:17 a.m.

Rep. Shelley Berkley recently took a courageous stand for health and the environment when she signed a letter calling on the Bush administration to dramatically reduce the toxic mercury pollution emitted by coal-fired power plants.

This letter came at a critical time -- even though enforcing the Clean Air Act would require coal-fired power plants to reduce mercury emissions by 90 percent, the Bush administration recently proposed to allow six to seven times more mercury into the air every year for the next decade -- letting President Bush's big campaign contributors in the power plant and coal industries off the hook.

The Bush administration's proposal would put millions of Americans at elevated risk of learning disabilities, difficulty in walking and talking and neurological disorders -- all effects of mercury exposure in the womb. This threat is widespread -- a recent EPA analysis indicates that one in six women of childbearing age in the United States has levels of mercury in her blood that are unsafe for a developing fetus.

In Nevada, 549 miles of rivers, including the Carson River and the Lahontan Reservoir, are so contaminated with mercury that the state government has warned citizens to limit or eliminate their consumption of fish caught there. Now, it's up to the Bush administration to heed Rep. Berkley's call and act now to reduce mercury pollution.

HEATHER LIBERMAN

Editor's note: Heather Liberman, based in Washington, D.C., works for the U.S. Public Interest Research Group. She is the coordinator of a campaign to raise awareness about mercury levels in Nevada's waterways.