Political Quotes

“I have spoken previously on my concerns about the ongoing threats from mercury pollution to the lands, rivers and lakes of Vermont and the rest of the country. I sponsored a Senate Resolution that called on the Administration to release its long overdue Mercury Study Report to Congress, a report that was mandated by the Clean Air Act of 1990. Earlier this year I introduced S. 1915, the ``Omnibus Mercury Emissions Reduction Act of 1998'' which, if enacted, would significantly reduce the risks that this powerful neurotoxin poses to the neurological health and development of pregnant women and their fetuses, women of child bearing age, and children. Senators Snowe, Wellstone and Moynihan have joined me in co-sponsoring the legislation. The Mercury Study Report to Congress states that 150 tons of mercury are released to the environment every year, year after year. The Study reports that more than one-third of the mercury that is released in the United States each year--52 tons--comes from coal-fired power plants. Mercury is contained in the coal. When coal is burned the mercury is vaporized and is released to the environment. Once released to the environment, mercury does not behave like many pollutants. It does not biodegrade, it persists. Mercury does not become less toxic--it transforms chemically into even stronger and more toxic forms such as methyl mercury. Methyl mercury accumulates in fish, and it accumulates in the human beings that eat the fish.”