WASHINGTON - February 25 - Beginning today, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is holding three two-day hearings on a federal rule proposed by the Bush administration last December that would allow coal-fired power plants to expose Americans to harmful levels of toxic mercury for decades longer than current law permits. The EPA hearings are in Philadelphia, Chicago and Research Triangle Park, NC.

The Sierra Club and other concerned citizen groups have scheduled press conferences, rallies and shadow events in Philadelphia, PA, Tampa, FL, New York, NY, Atlanta, GA, Albuquerque, NM, Augusta, ME, and Portsmouth, New Hampshire to urge the Bush administration to protect the communities from mercury pollution, schedule additional hearings and increase the public comment period to 90 days.

According to the EPA's own estimates, new technology exists that could reduce mercury pollution by 90% or more. However, the Bush administration's proposal would permit power plants to delay implementation of new technology and permit higher levels of mercury through 2018.

"Instead of putting the economic interests of corporate polluters ahead of America's public health, the Bush administration should be protecting our communities from mercury by cutting emissions from all power plants," said Carl Pope, Sierra Club's executive director. "All we need is for the Bush administration to enforce the laws on the books and require power plants to use new technology."

Forty-five states and territories have warned the public to limit consumption of fish from mercury-contaminated lakes and rivers. Mercury is a powerful toxin that causes learning and developmental disabilities in children. Women of childbearing age and children exposed in the womb or after birth are most at risk. The EPA recently estimated that one in six women of childbearing age have blood mercury levels high enough to put unborn babies at risk. Approximately 630,000 newborns are at risk each year.

Airborne deposits account for the bulk of mercury, which occurs naturally in coal and rises into the air as coal burns. Mercury then falls back to earth in rain, contaminating lakes and streams and, subsequently, fish. Humans who eat fish from contaminated waters are most at risk, but warnings also have been issued for canned tuna.

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