Obama Introduces Bill to Limit Use of Mercury
Wednesday, July 18, 2007
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CONTACT: Ben LaBolt
Recent report shows dangerously high mercury pollution continues to be produced
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Barack Obama (D-IL) today reintroduced the Missing Mercury in Manufacturing Monitoring and Mitigation Act, which prohibits the use of mercury in chlorine or caustic soda manufacturing by the year 2012. This legislation was prompted by an in-depth report published by the Chicago Tribune that highlighted the extent of mercury contamination in the fish eaten by Americans. Much of the mercury emitted into the environment today is a result of chlorine and caustic soda production. Oceana, an environmental group, today released a report highlighting that several chlorine production plants continue to threaten public health through their mercury production.
“The level of mercury in the fish we eat continues to remain high, posing a particularly acute health threat to pregnant women and children,” said Senator Obama. “We know that mercury can cause serious developmental problems in children and problems affecting vision, motor skills, blood pressure, and fertility in adults. This bill will phase out the use of mercury in U.S. plants that manufacture chlorine and caustic soda. Cost effective technology is available today to transition these plants to safer production processes, keeping all of us and our environment safer and healthier.”
Sampling conducted by the Chicago Tribune in late 2005 showed surprisingly high levels of mercury concentrations in freshwater and saltwater fish purchased by Chicago area consumers--fish like tuna, swordfish, orange roughy, and walleye. The Tribune also reported on how existing programs at the Food and Drug Administration and the Environmental Protection Agency have failed to adequately test and evaluate mercury levels in fish.
As many as 630,000 children born annually in the U.S. are at risk of neurological afflictions related to the consumption of mercury. And almost 10 percent of women in the U.S. of childbearing age have mercury in their blood at a level that could put a baby at risk.
The chlor-alkali industry is one of the principal sources of the mercury production. Chlor-alkali facilities manufacture chlorine gas and caustic soda, important chemicals that serve as the building blocks of many of the products and plastics essential to modern everyday life. For more than 100 years, mercury has been a key component in the chlorine process. Since 1974, however, about 115 plants worldwide have converted to better technologies such as membrane and diaphragm cells. Today in the United States, more than 90 percent of the chlor-alkali industry has switched from using mercury to using these alternative catalysts. Moreover, of the 8 plants in the U.S. that still use mercury, 3 are in the process of stopping. The remaining 5, however, have made no such commitment. It is also worth noting that in 2005 alone, the 5 uncommitted mercury-using plants reported that they released more than 4,400 pounds of mercury into the air, on average four times the average mercury releases of a standard coal-fired power plant.
The Missing Mercury in Manufacturing Monitoring and Mitigation Act, or M5 Act, prohibits using mercury cells in the chlorine or caustic soda manufacturing process by the year 2012. The M5 Act also puts procedures in place by mid-year 2008 to track and report mercury input and output in the chlor-alkali industry. The evidence suggests that between 2000 and 2004, the industry could not account for more than 130 tons of mercury. The EPA calls this “an enigma.” The M5 Act addresses this enigma by tightening up mercury tracking requirements. This bill also provides for the transfer and storage of mercury from closed or closing facilities. And it directs the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Register to conduct a health assessment at those facilities that still use mercury after 2008.
Obama originally introduced this legislation during the 109th Congress, along with the Mercury Market Minimization Act. In November 2006, Senator Obama called upon the Department of Energy to stop its proposed sale of large quantities of mercury. The Department subsequently announced it would not sell its stockpiles.