Feingold Calls For Hearing On The Hazards Of Mercury Pollution Recent EPA and GAO Reports Criticize Administration's Approach to Harmful Mercury Emissions March 23, 2005 Washington, D.C. -- Following a report from the Inspector General of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) criticizing the Administration's failure to analyze the hazards of mercury pollution, U.S. Senator Russ Feingold is calling for a hearing on the effects of mercury pollution on human health and the environment. Feingold joined a group of his Senate colleagues in sending a letter to the Democratic Policy Committee asking that the hearing be held because the American public and members of Congress need a full review of the threat mercury poses to public health and the environment. "Despite indisputable scientific evidence on the hazards mercury pollution poses, the administration has turned a blind eye to these dangers," Feingold said. "We need to work together to find ways to bring down the level of mercury in our air and water in order to keep our communities and our environment healthy." Investigations by both the EPA Inspector General and the General Accountability Office criticized the Administration for failing to analyze the effects of mercury on children's health and the benefits of other approaches to control mercury emissions. Last year, Feingold led a group of senators in sending a letter to the President asking him to provide assurances that political considerations are kept separate from science and public health. The senators wrote the President after reports that White House staff, while working with the EPA on the recently released draft mercury regulations, edited documents in order to play down the toxic effects of mercury. "It is clear that the Administration put industry interests above the public interest in designing its mercury rule," the Senators wrote. "As the Administration begins to implement the mercury rule and Congress continues to debate how to control toxic emissions from power plants, these criticisms should be addressed."

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