Letter from Consortium

December 18, 2003

Michael O. Leavitt
Administrator of the US Environmental Protection Agency
Ariel Rios Building
1200 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20460

Dear Mr. Leavitt:

As Chair of New Jersey's Mercury Task Force from 1998 to 2002 I am writing with regard to EPA's current proposals to remove mercury from the chemical toxics list and considerations of extending, the time frame in which a 90% reduction of mercury emissions will be achieved. The New Jersey Mercury Task Force comprised a broad representation from the public, industry, academia, and government, and met monthly to develop a comprehensive assessment of mercury in New Jersey's environment. Supported by the Department of Environmental Protection's excellent and experienced staff, the Task Force was able to explore many sources of mercury, some of them unsuspected. New Jersey already achieved 90% reduction of mercury emissions from its municipal solid waste incinerators, a major demonstration of the efficacy of regulations.

The Task Force attacked the mercury problem on several fronts including the removal of unnecessary mercury from products and the phase-out of mercury containing products for which there are reasonably available alternatives.

The Task Force identified emissions of mercury from utilities as a major source of mercury, contributing to statewide atmospheric deposition and contamination of New Jersey's waterways. The State had already demonstrated that freshwater fish in many New Jersey lakes had unacceptably high mercury levels requiring fish consumption advisories for fishermen. This phenomenon was too widespread to represent point source pollution. One of the recommendations of the Task Force was "Adopt State standards, if by December 2003, the U.S. EPA does not proceed to promulgate and implement effective mercury limits on coal combustion."

It is lamentable that EPA has not adopted appropriate standards to protect our environment from mercury, but it is gratifying that New Jersey has proceeded on schedule to issue State standards. It is likely that other states will follow suit. I think that EPA has the opportunity to take leadership in this important area.

The Task Force uncovered extensive evidence linking mercury emissions and atmospheric deposition to fallout of mercury contaminating water bodies resulting in mercury become available for biomethylation and subsequent food chain bioamplification. Indeed, mercury represents the best known and best studied example of this complete pathway from source to human exposure.

The Task Force was also impressed by the experience in Florida where reduction of mercury emissions from power plants was followed within a few years by reduction of mercury in fish. Through its air deposition network, New Jersey is in a position to track mercury deposition and anticipates monitoring its fish populations for mercury. Fish represents a valuable protein source for humans including the developing fetus, and it is extremely desirable from a public health perspective to interdict the coal > mercury > sediment > fish > fetus pathway, allowing women to avail themselves of this healthful food without restriction. At present fish advisories block the pathway at the end, but it would be more efficient and effective, the Task Force concluded, to block it at the source.

New Jersey's Mercury Task Force Report is available on the web at: http://www.state.nj.us/dep/dsr/mercury_task_force.htm.

The Task Force believed that effective controls on mercury emissions was a high public health priority and required that pollution control technology be applied at the source to reduce emissions. The Task Force concluded that this was a national priority. The Task Force concluded its work and delivered its final report to the Commissioner in January 2002. Since that time New Jersey has undertaken several initiatives to implement the Task Force Recommendations. I would be pleased to provide additional information if needed.

Sincerely yours,

Michael Gochfeld, MD, PhD.
Chair (former) of New Jersey Mercury Task Force
Professor
Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences Institute
UMDNJ-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School
Piscataway, NJ 08854