Tell EPA to Set Strong Standards on Mercury May 8, 2023

Mercury causes permanent damage to the brains of babies and unborn children, leading to developmental delays, learning disabilities, loss of IQ, and birth defects. Much of the mercury comes from coal-fired power plants.

Coal- and oil-fired power plants also emit more than 80 hazardous air pollutants identified by the Clean Air Act for control. Babies and children, individuals who are pregnant, older adults, people with lower incomes, people of color, and people with lung disease, heart disease or diabetes face higher risk from these pollutants.

It’s time to ask the EPA to enact the most stringent standards possible on mercury and hazardous air toxics (MATS). 

While EPA has helped reduce emissions of these substances in the past, they are now proposing to limit them further. 

Please ask the EPA to enact the most stringent standards for MATS possible.

Please send a brief message to EPA thanking them for proposing a rule to reduce mercury and air toxics emissions and urging them to make it as strong as possible. 

We suggest that you ask them to finalize a stringent alternative standard of no higher than 0.006 pounds per million British thermal units of heat input (lb/MMBtu) for non-mercury metal hazardous air pollutants (filterable particulate matter) and to revise the mercury standard for lignite-fired electric generating units to a more stringent level.

You may wish to remind them that the health effects of mercury and other air toxics include: 

• Mercury from coal-fired power plants is emitted into the air, falls into waterways, and accumulates in fish that families eat.
• Mercury causes permanent damage to the brains of babies and unborn children, leading to developmental delays, learning disabilities and birth defects.
• Air pollution from coal- and oil-fired power plants contains more than 80 hazardous air pollutants identified by the Clean Air Act for control, including cadmium, arsenic, chromium, lead, formaldehyde, acid gases, dioxins, and furans.
• These pollutants can cause cancer; damage the eyes, skin, and breathing passages; harm the kidneys, lungs, and nervous system; cause cardiovascular disease; and kill.
• Cleaning up air toxics from coal- and oil-fired power plants also reduces nitrogen oxides, sulfur oxides, ozone pollution and particulate matter.
• Babies and children, individuals who are pregnant, older adults, people with lower incomes, people of color, and people with lung disease, heart disease or diabetes will all benefit from stricter standards for mercury and air toxics. 

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