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"Someone has to look out for the pregnant women out there. Someone
has to look out for the moms and for the young children. That
someone should be the FDA. But it's not," said Mrs. Blagojevich.
"It's time the FDA starts doing its job and issues a warning about
the levels of tuna in mercury and the dangers it poses to pregnant
women and to young children." Mercury can cause serious health
problems to the human nervous system; pregnant women, women of
childbearing age and children younger than 15 years of age are
especially at risk. When a mother eats tainted fish, developing
fetuses can be exposed to mercury and can suffer mental retardation,
cerebral palsy, lower IQs, slow motor functions, deafness, blindness
and other health problems. Recent studies indicate that as many as
10 percent of babies born each year in the United States are exposed
to excessive mercury levels in the womb.
In June, the Consumers Union, which publishes
Consumer
Reports, issued a new warning that some canned tuna contains
mercury levels high enough that pregnant women should never eat it.
But according to the Chicago Tribune, the FDA -- the agency
responsible for helping the public get the accurate, science-based
information they need to use medicines and foods appropriately to
improve health -- does not plan to warn the public of this new
information. The Chicago Tribune also reported that a top FDA
official admitted that the reason for classifying light tuna as low
in mercury was to help the light-tuna makers maintain their market
share.
"Whose side is the FDA on? The tuna industry or pregnant women
and young children?" asked Mrs. Blagojevich. "They're supposed to be
on our side. But it's big business as usual at the FDA. This is the
same agency that failed to warn the public about Vioxx. About
Celebrex. The same agency that can't give women a straight answer
about the benefits of estrogen. The same agency that won't let
consumers save money by buying prescription drugs from other
countries. It's time the FDA stop putting profits ahead of safety.
It's time the FDA start putting people first."
"The more educated pregnant women are on the toxic effects of
mercury, the more beneficial it is to their health and the health of
their children," said Dr. Kisti Gibbs, medical director at the
Infant Welfare Society. "We at the Infant Welfare Society are happy
to aid in bringing attention to this important issue."
"Our goal is to have every baby born healthy," said Robyn Gabel,
executive director of the Illinois Maternal Child and Health
Coalition. "The effect of mercury on the fetus means that babies are
at a disadvantage before they are even born. High levels of mercury
can cause learning disabilities, developmental delays, decreased IQ,
and vision and motor skill loss. It burdens our educational systems
and our health care system."
"A pregnant woman shouldn't have to worry that eating the tuna
sandwich she has for lunch or the fish on her dinner table could
harm her unborn child. Pregnant women deserve the facts about
mercury contamination of seafood, so they can make healthy choices
for themselves and their babies," said Jack Darin, director of the
Sierra Club, Illinois Chapter. "Governor Blagojevich's plan to cut
mercury pollution from coal plants by 90 percent will not only make
Illinois children safer, but set an example for America to follow in
addressing the global problem of mercury contamination."
In January, the governor proposed a new mercury rule that would
require a 90 percent reduction of mercury pollution from in-state,
coal-fired power plants by 2009. If adopted, the new standard would
reduce toxic mercury emissions faster and more thoroughly than the
federal restrictions adopted last spring and would achieve the
largest overall amount of mercury reduction of any state in the
country. On Monday, the Illinois Pollution Control Board will have
the first of several hearings to consider the governor's proposed
mercury reduction rule. The first lady urged the board on Friday to
approve the governor's mercury reduction rule.
[to top of second column]
 |
 Mercury contamination is a nationwide problem. On March 10, 2005,
the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency issued the Clean Air
Mercury Rule, which required coal-fired power plants to reduce
mercury emissions 47 percent by 2010 and 79 percent by 2018. The
governor's mercury proposal came in response to a federal mercury
rule that is currently being implemented and is widely regarded as
insufficient. The proposed Illinois rules are significantly
stronger, requiring a 90 percent emissions reduction by June 30,
2009.
The 21 coal-fired power plants in Illinois are the largest source
of mercury emissions in the state, emitting over 7,000 pounds
annually -- more than all other human sources combined. Mercury is
released into the air when power plants burn coal to produce
electricity at power plants. The mercury is then deposited into
rivers and lakes, contaminating fish and getting into the food
chain.
Once mercury enters water, it becomes highly dangerous. Humans
get most of their mercury from eating fish -- and mercury
contaminates fish in every body of water in Illinois.
Due to high mercury concentrations, the Illinois Department of
Public Health has issued a statewide fish consumption advisory,
warning pregnant women, nursing mothers and young children to eat no
more than one meal a week of predator fish -- such as bass, walleye
and northern pike -- caught in Illinois waters.
Since coming into office, Blagojevich has demonstrated his
continued commitment to reducing mercury in the environment:
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On Earth Day,
April 22, the governor signed into law mercury switch
legislation that creates a statewide program for collecting and
removing mercury-containing switches from retired vehicles
before they are processed as scrap metal, so that the mercury
will not be emitted into the environment during processing. The
new law requires automakers to create mercury switch collection
programs, offering storage containers to auto recyclers and
dismantlers and arranging for transportation of the removed
switches.
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On May 1, Illinois
Environmental Protection Agency Director Doug Scott announced a
new initiative on behalf of the governor to expand the
collection and recycling of climate-control thermostats that
contain mercury switches. Long-term household hazardous waste
collection sites in both Rockford and Naperville will collect
and recycle mercury thermostats through an industry take-back
program. This will provide two drop-off locations in northern
Illinois for homeowners or do-it-yourselfers who purchase
replacement thermostats.
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Focusing on retail
products, three years ago the governor signed legislation that
ended the sale of mercury thermometers and novelty items. This
is another step to remove mercury from the waste stream and
replace mercury-containing items with safer available
alternatives. The legislation supported previous legislation
that further reduced mercury-containing products that pose a
potential health hazard by prohibiting schools from purchasing
mercury-containing scientific equipment for use in classrooms.
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The Illinois EPA
also continues to implement the governor's mercury initiative on
a variety of fronts, including collections of mercury items in
household hazardous waste collections, "green chemistry"
workshops and exchanges of mercury thermometers.
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An air sampling
station in Northbrook in 2000 is one of only two continuous
mercury-monitoring stations in the U.S. With advanced scientific
techniques, mercury samples are also being collected at several
inland lakes and streams across the state.
[News release from the governor's office] |
