|
"Mercury poses a major threat to new mothers and children,"
Blagojevich said. "If it's ingested, it can cause serious physical
and developmental disabilities in fetuses and kids. That's why, when
the federal government wouldn't go far enough, we set out to
significantly reduce mercury emissions from one of the leading
sources in our state -- power plants. I want to thank members of the
Pollution Control Board for putting public health first and
approving the rule today. Now we need legislators on the
administrative rules committee to take the final step to making this
rule official."
The board's adoption of the mercury rule is recognition that
power companies can and must take aggressive measures to reduce
toxic mercury pollution from their fleets of coal-fired power
plants. The mercury emission reductions called for by the governor
and adopted by the Illinois Pollution Control Board will reduce the
risk of exposure to toxic levels of mercury, which is particularly
dangerous for women and children. People are exposed to mercury
primarily through the consumption of fish from mercury-contaminated
waterways throughout Illinois and the entire country.
The Illinois Environmental Protection Agency filed the proposal
with the Pollution Control Board in March. The board then conducted
two rounds of public hearings on the proposed rule -- the first in
Springfield in June, followed by a second hearing in Chicago in
August. The board received a record number of more than 7,000 public
comments, the vast majority of which were in support of the strong
mercury reduction plan. The rule will now be submitted to the Joint
Committee on Administrative Rules, a bipartisan legislative
oversight committee of the Illinois General Assembly. The group's
review of the rule is the final step in the process that began when
Blagojevich proposed the mercury reduction rule.
"The governor's mercury proposal that was approved today is among
the strongest in the nation and has led to even greater
multi-pollutant reductions, making it even more beneficial to
improving the quality of life for people throughout the state," said
Doug Scott, director of the Illinois EPA. "This is a huge victory
for the environment and for public health in Illinois, and the board
should be commended for following the governor's lead to protect our
citizens, our communities and our environment."
Blagojevich's commitment to reducing toxic emissions has garnered
agreements with two of the three major coal-fired power companies in
Illinois, reducing not only mercury, but other toxic emissions as
well. Through agreements with Ameren, Illinois' second-largest
utility, and Dynegy, Illinois' third-largest electric utility, 96
percent of their capacity will use pollution control equipment by
2009 and will achieve the mercury standards called for by the
governor. By 2012 the remaining 4 percent of plants will install
controls able to meet the standards. While achieving the mercury
standard, the utilities will also significantly reduce two other
harmful pollutants, sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides, again
surpassing federal standards.
The deep reductions establish Illinois as a national leader in
reducing the three most dangerous power plant emissions: mercury,
sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides. Sulfur dioxide and nitrogen
oxides contribute to ground-level ozone and fine particles of air
pollution that can lead to respiratory illness, particularly in
children and the elderly, and aggravate heart and lung diseases.
These pollutants can also create acid rain, reduce visibility and
damage to sensitive ecosystems.
[to top of second column]
 |
"This ruling is a major public health victory," said Jack Darin,
director of the Sierra Club, Illinois Chapter. "This mercury cleanup
plan will protect future generations of Illinois children from the
very serious dangers posed by mercury contamination. It is a major
step forward towards the day when Illinois can hopefully lift the
health warnings currently posted about the dangers of eating certain
fish from every lake and river in our state. We commend the Illinois
Pollution Control Board for the time and work they put into weighing
all the evidence and ruling in favor of our children. We also
applaud the leadership of Governor Blagojevich, Doug Scott and all
the staff at the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency for their
hard work in enacting this historic pollution cleanup plan." "The
Illinois mercury rule will do what federal regulators wouldn't: put
children's health first," said Max Muller, environmental advocate at
Environment Illinois. "The mercury rule and the consequent
multi-pollutant provisions that reduce toxic pollutants even further
means Illinois will still have among the most protective mercury
rules in the country, but with additional upfront reductions in soot
and smog-forming emissions. Risking the health of our children is
not an acceptable cost of doing business in Illinois, and this
multi-pollutant plan makes that clear."
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. Developing
fetuses can be exposed to mercury when a mother eats tainted fish
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 the U.S., an estimated 43 percent of mercury emissions come
from power plants, making them the largest man-made source of
mercury emissions. The Illinois EPA estimates that the state's
coal-fired power plants emit 3.5 tons of mercury into the air every
year.
During the governor's term, Illinois has enacted laws and
established initiatives to:
-
Collect and remove
mercury-containing switches from retired vehicles before they
are processed as scrap metal.
-
Require state
agencies to recycle or responsibly dispose of old electronic
equipment that contains toxins such as mercury.
-
Ban the production
and sale of mercury fever thermometers and novelty items.
-
Expand the collection
and recycling of consumer products with climate-control
thermostats that contain mercury switches and relays.
-
Prohibit schools from
purchasing mercury for classroom use.
-
Shut down hospital
waste incinerators.
[News release from the governor's
office]
 |
