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Coal plants produce 71 percent of the mercury pollution emitted in
Illinois and 60 percent in the Great Lakes state as a whole
. The
southern Great Lakes region has among the highest mercury deposition
rates in the U.S
. In Illinois, mercury pollution has created severe
mercury "hot spots," areas where the threat to public health is elevated
.
In fact, Illinois ranks fourth in the U
.S
. for most severe mercury
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.
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OLSO-LIE-LfB
Child Care Coalition of Lake County
Romoting Quality ('are And Education For lake County's Young Children, Beginning At
Birth, Through
Advocacy, Communication And Education
655 Rockland Road, Suite #4, Lake Bluff, Illinois 60044
Telephone (847) 735-9945 Fax (847) 735-9645
Re
: Proposed New 35 ILL . ADM
. CODE 225, Control of Emissions
from Large Combustion Sources (Mercury)
; R06-25
Dear Honorable Members of the Board:
I am writing to express
the Child Care Coalition of Lake County's
support for the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency's proposed
rule to reduce mercury pollution, as amended to include the recent
agreements with Ameren and Dynegy
. This rule is absolutely critical
to protect the health of all Illinoisans
- especially women of
childbearing age, children and the unborn
-
and is technologically
feasible and cost effective
.
As you
know, mercury is a neurotoxin that can pass through the
placenta and poison fetal brain development
. Every day, thousands of
developing fetuses, newborns and young children are exposed to
mercury when pregnant and nursing women eat contaminated fish, or
children eat fish themselves
. Nationally, 6 to 10 percent of women of
childbearing age are estimated to have mercury levels high enough to
put their developing children at increased risk for developmental
problems
. Here in Illinois, that translates to more than 100,000 women
of childbearing age whose blood mercury levels may exceed the federal
recommended limit
.
Rs'4a8
e64
:TT 90 BT
deS
September 18, 2006
Office of the Clerk
Illinois Pollution Control Board
l`
~~
R
eceivED
SEP 2 0 2006
100 W. Randolph St.
Pollution
STATE OF ILLINOIS
Chicago, IL 60601
Control Board
As a result of all this mercury pollution, fish in Lake Michigan and all Illinois waterways are
contaminated with mercury
. The problem is so bad that the Illinois Department of Public Health
warns everyone
- particularly pregnant women, women of childbearing age and children -
to
limit their consumption of fish from every lake, river and stream in Illinois
.
Much of mercury pollution comes from local and regional sources
. So by reducing mercury
pollution at its largest sources
- coal-fired power plants - we can reduce mercury concentrations
in fish and lower the harmful effects of mercury exposure
. In one study, for instance, reductions
in mercury emissions led to
an
80 percent decline in mercury contamination levels in nearby fish
.
Illinois must take action on mercury pollution because a new federal mercury rule scheduled to
take effect later this fall is simply too little, too late
. The federal rule will perpetuate mercury hot
spots like those in Illinois by allowing coal plants to continue using older technology and
purchase the right to continue polluting at high levels rather than installing equipment to clean up
their plants and protect our health and environment now
.
Affordable, readily available technology already has been shown to reduce mercury pollution
from coal plants by as much as 95 percent
. Wisconsin, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota,
Ohio, and Pennsylvania, among others, have initiated mercury reduction proposals similar to the
Illinois rule, showing the rule is reasonable and based on achievable mercury reduction goals
.
We don't need additional studies or research
. We need to move forward now to protect the
health of our children and future Illinoisans
.
A large, diverse coalition of doctors, hospitals, public health officials, children's advocates,
health associations and environmental groups throughout Illinois support the proposed rule
before the IPCB
. But what really speaks volumes about this issue is the fact that Ameren and
Dynegy have already agreed to cut mercury pollution from their power plants by 90 percent in
the coming years
. It's time to codify their agreements in law, and to require companies like
Midwest Generation that haven't accepted their corporate responsibility to do the same
.
Sincerely,
Betsy Lazerow
Vice President Advocacy
Child Care Coalition of Lake County
6 , d
OLSO-L1E-LbB
rsza6 Q64:11 90 81 des
