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Joint Statement of the Northeast Alliance for Mercury Elimination for consideration before the annual meeting of the New England Governors & Eastern Canadian Premiers on July 16-18 in Halifax, Nova Scotia. Non-governmental organizations from throughout the Northeast and Eastern Canada have joined together to issue this joint statement in support of aggressive action to reduce and eliminate mercury releases from human activities. (See below for a list of the signatory organizations*). It is our understanding that a resolution to reduce and eliminate ongoing releases of mercury from consumer products, power plants and other sources will be considered and endorsed by the New England Governors/Eastern Canadian Premiers (NEG/ECP) at their July 16-18 meeting in Halifax, Nova Scotia. If strengthened, the Mercury Resolution will ensure swift implementation of the elements contained in the NEG/ECP's 1998 Mercury Action Plan. We, the Northeast Alliance for Mercury Elimination (NAME), request that the following comments and recommendations be incorporated into the Mercury Resolution scheduled for NEG/ECP adoption. For more information, contact:
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Recommendations 1. PRODUCTS: Phase Outs, Labeling of Mercury-Added Products, Disposal Ban NAME strongly urges NEC/ECP to endorse the model mercury products legislation drafted by the Northeast Waste Management Officials Association and recommend adoption in its entirety, including, but not limited to, the following key sections:
Some states and provinces have already begun to take steps to reduce mercury releases, but need further leadership and direction from NEG/ECP to support and ensure that the primary program components (listed above) are adopted uniformly region-wide. 2. TIMETABLE: Virtually Eliminate Anthropogenic Mercury Releases by 2010 Although NEG/ECP adopted a regional goal in 1998 of achieving "the virtual elimination of the discharge of anthropogenic (human-related) mercury into the environment," no timetable was established to achieve this milestone. It's time to correct this serious deficiency of the 1998 Mercury Action Plan by establishing a date certain by which anthropogenic mercury releases will be virtually eliminated. Therefore, we strongly recommend that NEG/ECP establish the Year 2010 as its timetable for achieving virtual elimination of mercury releases from all human activities. 3. POWER PLANTS: Reduce Mercury Emissions by 90% by 2005 (from 1997) NEG/ECP needs to provide stronger regional leadership and direction through adoption of an aggressive mercury emissions reduction goal for utility power plants. Unfortunately, the region has failed, thus far, to demonstrate significant progress in fulfilling the Mercury Action Plan's objective of achieving the "maximum economically and technically feasible reductions in mercury emissions from utilities and other boilers" (Recommendation 11, NEG/ECP Mercury Action Plan, 1998). NAME urges the NEG/ECP to follow through on its 1998 Plan by committing to reduce mercury air emissions from dirty power plants by 90 percent by the year 2005 (compared to baseline emissions in1997) and to virtually eliminate mercury emissions by 2010. In lieu of federal actions, the northeastern states and provinces should act to implement the often referenced regional "Clean Hands Policy" by reducing mercury emissions from power plants within their own jurisdictions. For example, we believe that this result is achievable at the 15 dirty coal-fired and oil-fired power plants located in New England. 4. EXPOSURE REDUCTION: Expand Health Warnings due to Contaminated Fish Throughout the region, both freshwater fish and ocean fish (including, but not limited to tuna, shark and swordfish) are often contaminated with unsafe levels of mercury, but most consumers are unaware of current fish consumption health warnings. (Approximately three-quarters of the fish consumed today in the region is ocean fish, making seafood the largest source of human exposure to mercury.) Because it will take a number of years to adequately reduce mercury levels in the environment and in fish, it is imperative that the NEG/ECP effectively communicate the human exposure risks, especially to pregnant women and their offspring, from the consumption of both freshwater fish and seafood contaminated with methlymercury. To more effectively reduce human exposure to mercury in fish, we strongly urge the NEG/ECP to take immediate and comprehensive steps to:
Respectfully submitted by the Northeast Alliance for Mercury Elimination, a coalition of non-governmental organizations in the United States and Canada, including: Association for the Preservation of the Bouctouche Watershed (New Brunswick) Audubon Society of New Hampshire Clean Water Action (Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island) Conservation Council of New Brunswick Down East Nature Tours (Maine) Environmental Advocates (New York) Fondation Medias Verts (New Brunswick) Health Care Without Harm (U.S.) Le Club d'ornithologie du Madawaska, Itee (New Brunswick) Maine Toxics Action Coalition Massachusetts Public Interest Research Group Mercury Policy Project (U.S.) National Wildlife Federation (U.S.) Natural Resources Council of Maine New Brunswick Lung Association New Hampshire Citizens Alliance New York Public Interest Research Group Pollution Probe (Canada) Sierra Club (Connecticut chapter) Terre-a-Terre (New Brunswick) Toxics Action Center (Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts) Vermont Public Interest Research Group |