Sierra Club Calls on Governor Doyle to
Strengthen Wisconsin’s Mercury Rules
Contact: Jennifer Feyerherm, Sierra Club Great Lakes Program,
608/257-4994, cell 608/695-5797
Jane Kochersperger, Greenpeace Media Officer, (202) 319-2493
Madison. WI – The results of the nation’s largest mercury hair-sampling
project were released today by the Environmental Quality Institute (EQI) at
the University of North Carolina-Asheville. The survey found mercury levels
exceeding the EPA’s recommended limit of one microgram of mercury per gram
of hair in one in five women of childbearing age tested.
More than 6,600 women from 50 states of all ages participated in the hair
tests conducted by Greenpeace and the Sierra Club. Here in Wisconsin, 10.3%
of tested Wisconsonites were found to have a dangerous amount of mercury in
their bodies.
The study comes as the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources is
currently working to weaken existing state rules in favor of a weaker Bush
Administration proposal. Ironically, Wisconsin has joined fourteen other
states in a legal challenge the Bush Administration rules because they
severely underestimate mercury pollution risks and do not protect public
health. Illinois’ Governor Blagojevich recently announced that Illinois is
moving forward with the most stringent mercury reduction rule in the United
States, a rule that will reduce mercury pollution by 90%.
“These mercury hair test results highlight our urgent need for strong
protections against mercury pollution,” said Mark Dahlby of Sierra Club’s
John Muir Chapter Executive Committee. “We have readily-available,
cost-effective pollution controls that can drastically cut mercury
emissions. It is time for Governor Doyle to follow Illinois’ lead and
propose strong mercury rules that protect public health.”
Mercury contamination is a particular concern for children and women of
childbearing years (16 to 49 years old) because mercury exposure in the womb
can cause neurological damage and other health problems in children.
“Mercury does not break down in the environment. Every bit added to the
environment remains for generations, building up in our lakes, our fish, and
our bodies,” explains Jennifer Feyerherm of Sierra Club’s Great Lakes
Program. “This study should be a wake-up call for Wisconsin to stop mercury
pollution from polluting power plants and move to clean sources of energy in
order to keep women and children mercury-free.”
Coal burning power plants are Wisconsin’s biggest mercury polluter,
releasing 60% percent of the state’s industrial mercury pollution. Mercury
from dirty power plants falls into lakes, streams and oceans, concentrating
in fish and shellfish, which are then consumed by people.
“In the samples we analyzed, the greatest single factor influencing mercury
exposure was the frequency of fish consumption,” said Dr. Steve Patch,
Co-director of EQI and co-author of the report. “We saw a direct
relationship between people’s mercury levels and the amount of locally
caught fish, store-bought fish, or canned tuna fish people consumed.”
Home hair sampling kits are available at cost via Sierra Club’s web site:
www.sierraclub.org/mercury. The EQI report and supporting documents will be
available on the Greenpeace and Sierra Club web site on February 8, 2006.
