Act Fast on Mercury Threat
Environmental Protection Agency scientists reported a striking finding this month: About 15% -- twice the rate previously assumed -- of the roughly 4 million babies born annually in the United States may be exposed to potentially harmful levels of mercury in the womb. Although the estimate is preliminary, based on an analysis by EPA scientist Kathryn Mahaffey, it should prompt fast action by the EPA to require power plants to reduce mercury emissions -- and by the Food and Drug Administration to better warn consumers about foods that may contain high concentrations of mercury.
Mercury can cause fetal neurological damage and learning problems. Little testing has been done so far on U.S. children.
At the FDA, Commissioner Mark B. McClellan is creating for release in the next two months dietary guidelines on mercury in fish. They should include better labeling to help pregnant and nursing women limit their intake of the principal sources of mercury contamination: predatory species of fish including swordfish, shark and some tuna.
California already does a better job than most states. Proposition 65 -- a measure passed in 1986 to require disclosure of potential toxic hazards wherever they’re found -- has prompted most grocers to post warnings near their fresh seafood sections. State Atty. Gen. Bill Lockyer should be more vigorous in applying the measure to canned albacore tuna; he should call for a label warning about the dangers of consuming it during pregnancy, similar to what’s on alcohol bottles.
The challenge in labeling is to strike a balance, to warn pregnant women to be cautious while not frightening off adults for whom fish consumption has proven benefits.
It can be difficult to assess the sometimes wildly varying mercury levels within a species. Another pothole is the threat of dueling lawsuits by tuna canners against any labeling and by environmental groups that want even restaurant menus to carry fish warnings.
The most effective solution would be to reduce mercury at the source, primarily coal-burning power plants. EPA Administrator Michael Leavitt should bow to his agency’s scientists and adopt the more stringent regulations for reducing mercury emissions endorsed by his predecessor, Christie Whitman, to achieve at least a 90% decline in mercury emissions from coal-fired plants by 2008. Leavitt last month proposed looser market-based regulation that at best would reduce emissions by 70%, and not until 2018.
The studies released this month don’t put mercury in the same broadly dangerous category as tobacco. However, they do show mercury to be more harmful to fetuses and nursing babies than previously thought. They should inspire better consumer warnings and tougher emissions regulations now.