Senator
U.S. Senate
Washington, D.C. 20510

RE: Stop mercury poisoning of children--Support S. 150

Dear Senator ,

Despite the fact that power plants pump out over 90,000 pounds of toxic mercury into our air every year, the Bush administration recently released a new rule delaying the clean up of this poison by 15 years. I strongly urge you to protect the health of all Americans, especially of our children, by co-sponsoring and actively supporting S. 150, the Clean Power Act of 2005. S. 150 would cut mercury emissions by 90% by 2008 without subjecting children in vulnerable communities to the risk of toxic hotspots. We can't afford to wait 15 years to address this public health crisis.

Mercury is a deadly neurotoxin that causes brain damage in babies and children and can even affect heart health in adults. The FDA has already warned women and children to avoid eating too much tuna and other mercury-tainted fish.

The EPA has identified coal-fired power plants as the largest industrial source of mercury in our environment. Mercury pollutes our nation's lakes, rivers, and coastlines and contaminates fish in at least 45 states. Scientists within the EPA now estimate that 15% of American women of childbearing age may be carrying mercury levels that are unsafe for their future children. Mercury threatens healthy brain development, and can cause lifelong and irreversible neurological damage in fetuses and young children.

Counseling families to avoid mercury contamination in fish is not enough to solve this problem. We must aggressively target mercury pollution at its source. Progress is already being made with some sources. For example, the health care industry has committed to phasing out mercury use in hospitals and clinics, and EPA has required 90% emissions reductions from medical and municipal waste incinerators.

EPA's proposed rules for power plant mercury stand in stark contrast. EPA's own Children's Health Protection Advisory Committee recently expressed concern that these proposals are insufficient to protect child health. They would take far too long to achieve dramatic mercury reductions, and could create or worsen mercury hotspots that threaten children in some unlucky communities.

Every child in America deserves a chance to grow up healthy and meet his or her full potential. Please help make that possible by co-sponsoring the Clean Power Act of 2005 and doing everything in your power to ensure its passage.