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Important Report! Hot Topic!

One of every 20 cans of "white," or albacore, tuna should be recalled as unsafe for human consumption, according to MPP independent testing (see press release and testing report). Mercury exposure can cause severe learning disabilities and other neurodevelopmental problems in babies and young children. Recent Centers for Disease Control findings indicate that 8 percent of woman of childbearing age in the US have unsafe mercury levels, translating into over 300,000 babies born at risk each year. MPP's testing found that mercury levels in Albacore "white "canned tuna averaged over 0.5 ppm mercury. Recently obtained test results from the Food and Drug Administration confirm MPP's findings and show "white" canned tuna has three times the mercury levels as the "light" tuna. An earlier MPP report reveals that FDA's seafood mercury monitoring program severely lacks in thoroughness, depth and degree.

One That Got Away
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Read the Press Release

Model Mercury Legislation

See model dental legislation drafted by the Mercury Policy Project.

See model mercury legislation drafted by the Mercury Policy Project that is reflected in most recent state and federal legislation on mercury.

Exposure to Mercury

We are exposed to mercury through the food we eat, primarily freshwater and marine fish. 40 states warn residents to restrict their consumption of certain fish due to mercury contamination. According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, about 7 million women and children are eating mercury-contaminated fish at or above the level it considers safe.

Learn more about this issue, actions being taken to address the risk of mercury exposure, and advocacy efforts to eliminate human exposure to mercury.

Mercury Pollution

The majority of the mercury entering lakes, streams, rivers, and oceans comes from the atmosphere. Eight-five percent of all mercury pollution in the U.S. is released by power plants burning coal and municipal and medical waste incinerators burning mercury tainted trash.

Learn more about the sources of mercury, policies in place to curb releases, and advocacy strategies pushing toward virtual elimination of mercury releases in 10 years.

In order to view the documents in PDF format, you will need Adobe Acrobat installed on your computer

Welcome!

The Mercury Policy Project (MPP) works to promote policies to eliminate mercury uses, reduce the export and trafficking of mercury, and significantly reduce mercury exposures at the local, national, and international levels. We strive to work harmoniously with other groups and individuals who have similar goals and interests.

New at MercuryPolicy.org

4/22/08 Environmental groups from New York to California are taking a pledge to consider only the “greenest” CFLs when making purchases for office use and during compact fluorescent lamp giveaways. The new “Green Lighting Campaign” intends to promote more sustainable lighting practices such as recycling, rather than throwing lamps containing mercury in the trash. Toxic levels in lamps have created concerns when the lamps are produced, transported, installed, broken or disposed of, say advocates. Absent mercury content reductions and manufacturing dosing improvements, global mercury use will increase with expanding fluorescent lighting use, and negate dramatic mercury reductions anticipated in most other sectors. Offered by a coalition of groups (see press release), the guidance and pledge have other organizations considering steps to include more than energy efficiency when determining their lighting purchases.

Millions of lamps are purchased every year, a decision typically made by a handful of people. Many work with or in non-profit groups, who then distribute them to the public. Lamp giveaways are held to help educate and motivate the public around issues of energy efficiency and climate change. By making these purchases influence more than the climate change issue, the Green Lighting Campaign seeks to influence the overall market for lighting products. “As we choose compact fluorescent lamps to combat global warming, we can and should reduce toxic pollution at the same time,” said Bill Magavern, Director of Sierra Club California. “The Green Lighting Campaign seeks to protect households and workers from both mercury pollution and climate change.”

2/25/08 Tests conducted by the State of Maine (see FAQ and Clean-Up Instructions) confirm earlier states findings suggesting that under certain conditions mercury vapor released from a broken compact fluorescent lamp can pose a health risk. As a precaution, states like Vermont and Massachusetts are now suggesting removal of carpeting where breakage has occurred where there are infants and pregnant women present. A report MPP released today recommends that sensitive populations should take extra precautions to reduce risks associated with breakage, but says that CFLs generally can and should still be used in everyone’s homes until a nontoxic light bulb becomes available. The report also recommends the adoption of more comprehensive environmental and human health guidelines by decision makers that, in addition to energy-efficiency, address other concerns, including:

Reduced toxicity while maintaining performance;
Improved breakage resistance and longer lamp life (which can reduce manufacturing, transportation and disposal impacts);
Sustainable manufacturing processes (such as the use of encapsulated mercury-dosing technologies);
Responsible end-of-life management (particularly through producer responsibility in funding lamp collection and retailer collection programs)
Innovative technologies such as light-emitting diodes (LEDs) that use less- or non-toxic materials, that have significantly longer life, are much more efficient for certain applications, and/or that offer other measurable environmental benefits.

In response to the Maine CFL breakage study, the US EPA has made some changes to its CFL clean up guidance.

However, according to MPP Director Bender, the EPA advice could be readily improved through following new state guidance which 1) recommends against vacuuming and 2) instead favors cleaning up the debris with cardboard and sticky tape and quickly removing it front the home, so as to 3) minimize vaporization of mercury.

2/18/08 As a result of its findings from a November 14, 2007 hearing at which MPP Director Bender testified, the US House Domestic Policy Subcommittee of the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform is conducting an investigation into the work of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to determine if EPA has underestimated mercury emissions related to dental use of mercury. The Subcommittee's hearing revealed significant disparities between the agency's data for mercury emissions related to dental use of mercury and other estimates. EPA has even expressed a lack of confidence in some of its estimates. Furthermore, there are a number of other emissions pathways for which EPA has failed to develop any estimates, as the attached letter from the Subcommittee to EPA Administrator Steve Johnson outlines. It its letter, Chairman Dennis Kucinich requests that EPA provide specific information to the Committee no later than Feb.29, 2008.

2/4/08 Mercury has again been in the news with the release of new data on mercury levels in tuna sushi by the New York Times and Oceana/Mercury Policy Project study. While the results were startling--around 1 of 3 pieces of tuna tested had levels above FDA's action level of 1 PPM--the attack by special interests against those covering the news was swift and erroneous. Seemingly, according to these special interests, everyone including pregnant women and children could eat as much high mercury fish as they wanted, without any risk. In response, 29 mercury experts from 11 countries signed on to the following open letter to set the record straight.

11/14/07 The U.S. House Oversight and Government Reform Committee will hold a hearing on Wednesday, Nov. 14, to discuss FDA’s responsibility to evaluate the harmful environmental impacts of mercury dental fillings and to question why FDA has not finalized a rule proposed in 2002 to classify mercury tooth fillings under the Medical Device regulations. "The Hearing will show that dental uses contribute to high mercury levels in fish Americans consume," said MPP Director Michael Bender. "Testimony will also show, for the first time, that dental mercury air emissions may be more than five times higher than recent EPA estimates." Bender's testimony comprehensively lays out the extent of the problem, and the need to reduce this pollution source.

10/31/07 A key US House Committee yesterday approved legislation, HR 1534 -- the Mercury Export Ban Act of 2007 -- banning the export of mercury by 2010 and established a long term storage option at a facility designated by the US Secretary of Energy. HR.1534 is supported by the environmental community, the Environmental Council of States, the American Chemistry Council, the Chlorine Industry and the mining industry and passed the US House Energy and Commerce Committee on a vote of 42 to 2. HR. 1534 is needed to curtail trade in this toxic commodity particularly to developing countries where over 1000 tons of mercury is used and released by small scale gold miners, threatening themselves, their families and communities and the local and global environment to widespread, persistent and bioacccumulative toxin. The legislation moves to the US House of Representatives for consideration.

3/29/07 After a long series of delays, US EPA finally announced that it is establishing, in consort with other federal partners, a stakeholder panel process to provide the U.S. government with a range of options for better managing non-federal mercury supplies. As part of this process, the panel will hold a series of public meetings over a six-month period beginning with the first meeting in Washington, D.C., on May 8. The charge to the panel is to consider: 1 ) how the various stocks of mercury should be managed both in the short-term and the long-term, and 2 ) how current and future supply and demand affect this determination for each of the various stocks. As a starting point, EPA has distributed a background paper. The public can also provide written comments on the issues the stakeholder panel. When sending in comments, mention that the Docket Identification Number is EPA-HQ-OPPT-2007-0148. More information about the stakeholder panel and the EPA "Roadmap for Mercury " is available on the EPA web site.

3/8/07 Scientists from around the world are warning people about the health risks posed by eating mercury contaminated fish. Children and women of childbearing age are being told to be extra careful, since the risks are greatest to sensitive populations. The alarming findings are revealed in "The Madison Declaration on Mercury Pollution" published today in a special issue of the international science journal Ambio.Developed at the Eighth International Conference on Mercury as a Global Pollutant last August in Madison, Wis., the declaration is a synopsis of the latest scientific knowledge about the danger posed by mercury pollution.

3/7/07 Following reports that the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) will not allow sales of high mercury canned tuna into the Canadian market, MPP is calling on the U.S. Food & Drug Administration to do the same. “FDA’s own testing indicates that some albacore canned tuna has very high mercury levels comparable to those found in Canada,” said MPP Director Michael Bender. “However, the agency has done nothing to prevent high mercury tuna from ending up in our children’s sandwiches or our dinner plates.” A recent national news report in Canada indicated that 8 out of 60 cans of albacore tuna exceeded the Government of Canada's guidelines of 0.5 parts per million for mercury. In a follow up review, CFIA determined that 5 of the 60 cans tested (8%) exceeded the standard of 0.5ppm. In response, the CFIA has contacted tuna importers to ensure that incoming shipments of canned albacore tuna are tested. CFIA is also reminding governments of the top exporting countries, including the U.S., and domestic Canadian importers of the importance of meeting Canadian requirements. "According to recent testing, some light canned tuna also has high mercury levels that surpass 0.5 ppm mercury," said Bender. "Unfortunately, FDA has not followed up on this either."

3/2/07 Advocates applauded the work of a Vermont House Committee which passed out two important bills on mercury that will significantly reduce pollution. The first requires dentists to have patients sign a consent form before receiving any procedure involving mercury amalgam, which informs them of the potential hazards to human health. The second requires a $5 cash incentive be provided by the manufacturer to contractors that turn in mercury-containing thermostats for recycling. "Informed consent will empower Vermonters to just say no to mercury amalgam, and in the process this will help reduce mercury pollution," said MPP director Bender in a statement . "It also provides patients with the same information that many dentists have already received from manufacturers, which states that 'The use of amalgam in contraindicated...In children 6 and under....(and).... in expectant mothers'". The news was picked up in a Vermont newspaper.

2/9/07 Anti-mercury advocates conditionally welcomed the decision of the 24th United Nations Environment Programme Governing Council meeting on 5-9 February as a small step forward, but overall viewed it as a missed opportunity. Noting that the U.S. blocked consensus, MPP Director Michael Bender said, “Most governments now recognize the need for global mercury regulations. Therefore, if the U.S. can’t lead, they should follow, or at least get out of the way.” (see press release)

“Once again, a few countries led by US and India delayed real progress, whereas the EU, the African Region, Japan, Brazil, the Philippines, Norway and Switzerland were ready to make a political decision on a legally binding instrument as the way forward,” said Elena Lymberidi from the European Environmental Bureau. “Instead, we have a process to consider options during the next Governing Council in 2009. We must finally move beyond promising words into real action.”

There were some small positive developments that were adopted:

Priorities were identified to reduce risks from emissions, demand, and supply of mercury, as well as from contaminated sites.
There was a call to fill data gaps on supply and demand
An air emissions report will be developed
An ad hoc open ended working group will be formed to further discuss priorities and options and report back to the 25th Governing Council.

“These are baby steps, while giant steps are needed!” said Zuleica Nycz , ACPO, Brazil, “Not having a legally binding instrument means that developing countries will not have the necessary incentive to develop national programmes or policies to protect their people from toxic mercury.”

Some news reports have already come out from the Nairobi meeting, see:

GC-24/GMEF HIGHLIGHTS (Earth Negotiations Bulletin)
UN Delegates Agree Voluntary Reduction Of Mercury Emissions (NASDAQ)
UN forum makes limited progress on mercury emissions (YAHOO)
Mercury pollution rising as Canada, U.S. opt to keep talking (YAHOO)

UNEP now has an outline for moving forward on this over the next 2 years.

2/1/07 The Zero Mercury Working Group is calling on the world's governments to adopt a binding international treaty at the UNEP Governing Council meeting in Nairobi, 5-9 February for many of the same reasons recently presented by the Nordic Ministers. Following up on that, a proposed draft decision on a global framework for international action on mercury, lead and cadmium was recently submitted by Gambia, Iceland, Norway, Senegal and Switzerland to the twenty-fourth session of the Governing Council/Global Ministerial Environment Forum. Unfortunately, the U.S. Government does not appear particularly receptive to such an approach even though an association of state governments has been calling for a stronger stance. While the European Commission has proposed a ban on the export of mercury to address the Global Toxic Trade in mercury that threatens artisanal & small scale miners globally, some maintain that restricting exports will result in more primary mercury mining, but research indicates conducted for the European Commission indicates that this is highly unlikely.

1/25/07 Advocates released a report today supporting recommendations by the Vermont Air Pollution Control Division and the Advisory Committee on Mercury Pollution to phase out the use of mercury dental amalgam. The report outlines the many reasons to phase out mercury in dentistry--ranging from indirect toxiic releases into wastewater, landfills and farmers’ fields to more direct releases from dental clinics, human wastes and cremation.

Two years ago, the Vermont Legislature mandated requirements for dental clinics to install pollution control equipment. But advocates maintain that the legislature has not gone far enough, and a growing number of Vermont agencies, officials and committees.

In its “2007 Annual Report to the Governor, General Assembly and Citizens of the State of Vermont,” the Advisory Committee on Mercury Pollution stated its support for “an eventual phase-out of mercury-containing dental amalgam...and recommends that the Legislature consider this [in order] to virtually eliminate the release of anthropogenic mercury in Vermont.” In addition, the Committee recommends that the Legislature consider legislation to ban the use of dental amalgams in the two highest risk populations, pregnant women and children under 18. “Mercury tooth fillings are one of the largest pollution sources in Vermont today,” said Michael Bender, Director of Mercury Policy Project in a statement. “While mercury releases from human wastes and cremation may be an uncomfortable topic, most people understand that if they have mercury in their teeth, it will eventually be released into the environment.” Legislation is currently being considered in VT to phase out dental mercury use.

1/2/07 In a response to a letter from Senator Barack Obama, Department of Energy Secretary Samuel Bodman cites recognition of both health and environmental concerns for reasons why the DOE "has no current plans to sell" their stockpile of over 1,200 metric tons of mercury. According to a draft background document, "DOE will continue to store its mercury stocks while investigating alternative long-term storage options." The December 18, 2006 background draft also states that ".. the U.S. Government's actions not to sell mercury on the open market sends a positive message to both private and state domestic mercury holders, as well as to global mercury policy makers...By committing to long-term storage of U.S. owned mercury, the U.S. Government can develop a position for the UNEP Governing Council meeting that: 1) Indicates that the U.S. has committed to storing 70% of its stocks, and 2) the U.S. Government has in place a stakeholder process that will develop options for management of its remaining nonfederal stocks of mercury."