E.P.A. Says Mercury Taints Fish Across U.S.

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http://www.nytimes.com/2004/08/25/politics/25fish.html?th

 

August 25, 2004

 

E.P.A. Says Mercury Taints Fish Across U.S.

By MICHAEL JANOFSKY

 

WASHINGTON, Aug. 24 - The head of the Environmental

Protection Agency said on Tuesday that fish in

virtually all of the nation's lakes and rivers were

contaminated with mercury, a highly toxic metal that

poses health risks for pregnant women and young

children.

 

Michael O. Leavitt, the E.P.A. administrator, drew his

conclusion from the agency's latest annual survey of

fish advisories, which showed that 48 states - all but

Wyoming and Alaska - issued warnings about mercury

last year. That compared with 44 states in 1993, when

the surveys were first conducted.

 

The latest survey also shows that 19 states, including

New York, have now put all their lakes and rivers

under a statewide advisory for fish consumption. But

Mr. Leavitt said that the widespread presence of

mercury reflected a surge in monitoring - not an

increase in emissions - as part of growing state

efforts to warn local anglers about the fish they are

catching. Last year, states issued 3,094 advisories

for toxic substances, compared with 1,233 in 1993.

 

" Mercury is everywhere, " Mr. Leavitt said at a news

conference in his office. " The more waters we monitor,

the more we find mercury. Monitoring is up and will

continue to go up. But emissions are down and will

continue to go down. "

 

The latest survey represents monitoring from 35

percent of the nation's lakes, more than 100,000 of

them; 24 percent of total river miles, nearly 850,000

miles; 75 percent of coastal waters; and all of the

Great Lakes.

 

The E.P.A. also provided a chart showing the level of

mercury emission from human causes fell 45 percent in

1999 from 1990. The agency said that was the most

recent data it had available. Mr. Leavitt promised to

issue the nation's first regulations for mercury

emissions " within a few months. " The plan, with a

deadline of March 15, 2005, has gained industry

support because of the likelihood it will include a

''cap-and-trade program " that lets companies buy and

sell credits that give them a pollution allowance,

which would save them in cleanup costs.

 

" Even in light of new monitoring data, " said Scott

Segal, director of the Electric Reliability

Coordinating Council, an industry group, " a

well-designed cap-and-trade program remains the most

appropriate response to dealing with mercury emissions

from power plants. "

 

But environmentalists, as well as President Bush's

Democratic opponent, Senator John Kerry, have attacked

the Bush administration's proposed standards as weak

and unnecessarily drawn out. The administration has

proposed reducing emissions 29 percent by 2010 and 69

percent by 2018.

 

Emily Figdor, a policy analyst for Clear the Air, a

coalition of environmental groups, said, " The

technology is available now to reduce emissions by 90

percent by 2008, as the Clean Air Act requires, but

there is no indication that the administration is

considering a stronger proposal. "

 

Carl Pope, executive director of the Sierra Club,

accused the administration of " dragging its feet " by

endorsing a weak plan.

 

A spokesman for Mr. Kerry accused the Bush

administration of proposing standards that industry

lobbyists helped write, a criticism the E.P.A. has

denied, and said Mr. Kerry, as president, would

support sharper reductions in a shorter period of

time.

 

" With George Bush in the White House, you better think

twice before you eat the fish you catch, " said the

spokesman, Phil Singer. " While the Bush administration

has opted for a lobbyist-written approach to mercury

emissions, John Kerry will go further faster and be

more effective in ridding our lakes and rivers of

poisons that threaten pregnant women and children.

 

Despite evidence that fish caught almost anywhere in

the country is contaminated with mercury, Mr. Leavitt

repeatedly urged reporters to consider the increasing

number of advisories in the larger context of more

aggressive actions by states in monitoring and by the

administration in moving toward new regulations.

 

Pointing out that the Clinton administration waited

until its final days to propose mercury emission

regulations, which were later challenged in court, he

said Mr. Bush deserved credit for proposing

regulations and providing technical assistance to

other countries working to reduce mercury emissions.

 

It remains unclear what would happen to the Bush

proposal if Mr. Kerry were to win in November.

 

" That's an eventuality, " Mr. Leavitt said, " that I

have not considered. "

 

Copyright 2004 The New York Times Company