USA Nurses Sue the EPA Over Mercury
The American Nurses Association (ANA) has joined other health and medical groups in suing the USA Environmental Protection Authority over its failure to adequately protect the public from mercury pollution.
Health and medical groups say the EPA is delaying the implementation of pollution control standards required under the federal Clean Air Act, putting the health and safety of the population at risk.
They have cited widely accepted scientific research describing mercury as a ‘potent neurotoxicant’ that can cause developmental and learning difficulties, reduce IQ, and impair motor function, vision and hearing.
The EPA itself has estimated over 600,000 newborns each year are exposed to unhealthy mercury levels in utero.
However, the EPA’s rules allow mercury pollution to continue for 10-15 years longer than allowed by the Clean Air Act, the health groups say, posing a grave risk to public health.
Our nation’s health and safety is at stake. The EPA can help prevent future brain impairment in America’s children by strengthening and enforcing reasonable limits on mercury emissions from power plants and educating consumers about avoiding fish high in mercury,’ spokesperson Susan West Marmagas said.
Researchers from the Mount Sinai School of Medicine estimated (in 2000) the annual cost of lost productivity associated with IQ impairment from mercury pollution was US$1.3 billion.
ANA president Barbara Blakeney said it was critical to protect the community from such a serious health threat.
‘Many young children exposed to mercury before birth will suffer subtle but irreversible brain damage. Preventing this tragedy, which affects not only families but entire communities, should be a national priority.’
Copyright Australian Nursing Federation Aug 2005