WASHINGTON D.C. — ” The Senate is set to vote today on a proposal that would kill America’s first rule governing mercury emissions, imposing tighter controls on coal-fired power plants and other industrial sources. Ohio and other Great Lakes states, in particular, need the rule to stay intact.
Mercury, a potent toxin, attacks the brain and central nervous system. It is especially harmful to young mothers and children. As it falls from the sky and settles on large bodies of water, such as the Great Lakes, mercury converts to a pollutant many times more harmful than what comes out of smokestacks.
Ohio generates more mercury than any other Great Lakes state, and is among the nation’s leaders, because of its reliance on coal. The pollutant collects in the tissue of Great Lakes fish and is passed on to humans who eat them. It is even more acute in fresh water than in oceans. ”
Editorial, Toledo Blade
