Fw: U.S. Gov't plans to thwart Global mercury reduction plans

[Guest guest]

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" Bernard Windham " <berniew1

<dental >

Cc: <mercuryfillings >

Monday, January 27, 2003 7:50 PM

U.S. Gov't plans to thwart Global mercury reduction plans

 

 

> Ban Mercury Working Group

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> For immediate release: October 23, 2002

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> US Plans to Thwart Global Mercury Treaty Talks,

> Leaked Document Shows:

> Groups Demand US to Remain Open to Global Talks

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> Washington, DC. January 27, 2003 - A leaked internal government document

shows that the United States will attempt to foil future talks on the

creation of an international instrument (treaty) on mercury during the

upcoming February meeting of the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP)

Governing Council in Nairobi. Today, the Ban Mercury Work Group

(Ban-Hg-Wg), a coalition of 28 non-profit groups from around the world,

condemns the latest US foreign policy and demands the US to fulfill its

earlier pledge to remain open to future treaty talks on global mercury

issues.

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> " The global mercury crisis is a conflagration raging under our noses,

meanwhile the US is intent on ensuring that the global community fiddles,

while the world burns, " said Jim Puckett, a Ban-Hg-Wg spokesperson.

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> The leaked document states that, " we [uS] should block any attempt to move

forward " on a binding mercury treaty and " strive to prevent specific

references to a convention " in the anticipated Mercury Resolution expected

to be adopted by UNEP Governing Council in Nairobi. The document further

revealed, " the USG [uS government] should oppose convening a formal expert

or policy group meeting such as the September 2002 Mercury Working Group "

and " oppose assessment of other heavy metals. " This comes in apparent

response to a unified December European Union position, which states " .that

the Member States support and actively work for concrete international

actions to be initiated on mercury and its compounds, for instance a

legally-binding instrument.and that global assessment of other heavy metals

such as lead and cadmium shall commence. "

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> Already, the European Union and the Latin American and Caribbean countries

(GRULAC) in Geneva last September at UNEP's special meeting on the Global

Mercury Assessment concluded that options for a legally binding global

treaty addressing mercury and perhaps other toxic heavy metals should be

explored. Earlier during these talks the US stated that they would remain

open to such treaty possibilities but now they appear to be clearly laying

down a policy opposing such action.

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> Additionally, the Environmental Council of the States (ECOS), an

organization made up of local and state government environmental officials

throughout the United States, has also asked the federal government to call

for a treaty to be accomplished within 6 years.

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> " Mercury is a toxic time bomb that is about to explode. We are talking

about an immortal toxic substance that is reaching threshold levels in the

biosphere. This crisis can only be ignored at the peril of all fish

consumption, child development, and the very genetic integrity of our

species, worldwide, " said Michael Bender of the Ban-Hg-Wg. " The US must not

be allowed to prevent the global community from taking obvious actions to

save the health of future generations. "

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> Bender also said that the US could do more to reduce mercury releases from

coal-fired power plants-the world's largest mercury polluters-but that the

internal US document attempts to downplay the issue. " Furthermore, for the

largest anthropogenic source of mercury, coal-fired power plants, mercury

emissions are just a small part of a much broader air pollution problem that

many nations need to confront, " states the document.

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> Background:

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> Mercury is a persistent, bio-accumulative toxin that has increased at

least three fold in the atmosphere and ocean over the past century, posing a

risk to human health, wildlife and the ecological balance. The US Food and

Drug Administration and 41 states warn consumers to limit or not eat certain

fish due to mercury levels and ten states advise pregnant women and children

to limit consumption of canned tuna, the most consumed fish in the US. A

potent neurotoxin, mercury exposures can affect the brain, kidneys and

liver, and cause developmental problems. Data from the Centers for Disease

Control indicates that 1-in-12 women of childbearing age have unsafe mercury

levels, translating into over 300,000 children born each year in the US at

risk of exposure to mercury.

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> The UNEP Working Group met in Geneva in September 2002 and finalized the

global mercury assessment report for submittal to the Governing

Council/Global Ministerial Environment Forum in Nairobi, Kenya, February 3

to 7, 2003. Based on the report's key findings, the Working Group

concluded " there was sufficient evidence of significant global adverse

impacts to warrant international action to reduce the risks to human health

and/or the environment arising from the release of mercury into the

environment. " In its September 23, 2002 meeting summary, the Working Group

" stressed the need to pay particular attention to vulnerable populations

subject to special (mercury) risk, namely children, pregnant women, and

woman of childbearing age as well as indigenous people, communities

dependent on fish as a source of food and occupational exposure when

addressing the global adverse impacts of mercury. " The Working Group also

" emphasized that it was not necessary to have full consensus !

> or complete evidence in order to take action and therefore potentially

significant global adverse impacts should also be addressed. " The Governing

Council will also consider whether other heavy metals of possible global

concern warrant assessments.

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> For more information contact:

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> Michael Bender, Mercury Policy Project, 802-223-9000, E-mail:

mercurypolicy

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> Jim Puckett, Basel Action Network, 206-652-5555, E-mail: jpuckett

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> For more information visit:

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> http://www.mercurypolicy.org.

> http://www.ban.org/Ban-Hg-Wg

> http://www.chem.unep.ch/mercury

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