Political Quotes

“This amendment was going to be offered by Mr. Markey, and he strongly supports it, and I want to offer it in his place. Power plants, cement kilns, incinerators, manufacturing facilities, and other industrial sources release toxic mercury into the air. These emissions travel through the atmosphere and eventually deposit to land or water. Once deposited, the mercury can build up in fish, shellfish, and animals that eat fish. Consumption of fish and shellfish is the main route of mercury exposure to humans. EPA and FDA have warned women who are pregnant, of childbearing age, or nursing that they should limit their consumption of certain types of fish and avoid others entirely due to mercury contamination. EPA's cement kiln rules are designed to cut emissions of mercury as well as other hazardous air pollutants. EPA estimates that the rules will reduce mercury emissions from cement kilns by 16,400 pounds, or 92 percent, compared with projected levels. EPA looked at how these reductions would affect the emissions that are deposited to land or water. EPA estimated that the cement rules would reduce mercury deposition by up to 30 percent in the West and up to 17 percent in the East by 2013. The agency's modeling indicates that the mercury deposition reductions would be the greatest nearest the cement kilns.…”