EDF Praises Bipartisan Congressional Bill to Protect Children from Mercury Pollution

(Washington, D.C. – August 29, 2018) A new bipartisan Congressional bill would be a big step towards keeping our children safe from mercury, according to Environmental Defense Fund (EDF).

EDF praised Senators Susan Collins (R-ME) and Tom Carper (D-DE) for introducing the Comprehensive National Mercury Monitoring Act, which will help scientists gather more data on mercury pollution and the damage it causes to human health and the environment.

“Mercury is an exceptionally toxic type of pollution that causes brain damage in babies,” said Mandy Warner, EDF’s Senior Manager of Climate and Air Policy. “We need to protect our families from mercury, and in order to do that we need the best possible data. This bipartisan bill is a good step toward reaching that goal.”

The Comprehensive National Mercury Monitoring Act would require federal agencies – including EPA, NOAA and the Fish and Wildlife Service – to measure and keep track of mercury levels in our air, water and soil. That would help identify how mercury is getting into our environment and where levels of the pollutant are highest.

The bipartisan bill was introduced just as the Trump administration announced that it may rollback our national protections against mercury and other toxic pollution – measures that are already in place protecting American children.