A plan to reduce pollution from products containing mercury has been drafted for states
surrounding the Great Lakes. Once in the environment, mercury can pose a number of health risks. Chuck Quirmbach reports:
Transcript
A plan to reduce pollution from products containing mercury has been drafted for states
surrounding the Great Lakes. Once in the environment, mercury can pose a number of health
risks. Chuck Quirmbach reports:
A committee of the Great Lakes Regional Collaboration set up by President Bush is looking for
ways to phase out mercury in products and in waste.
The panel recommends banning or being more careful with mercury in dental fillings, thermostats,
switches, thermometers and lamps. Committee member Randy Case says all of the
recommendations have been tried in at least one of the Great Lakes states and should not be a
hardship:
“These aren’t really new suggestions or new ground for the manufacturers of these products. It’s
issues I think they with which they’ve already given some thought about product stewardship and
mercury elimination.”
the public can now comment on the draft proposal through the end of October. Environmental
groups say more of the states could already be taking steps to keep mercury out of the
environment where it can be a threat to human health.
For the Environment Report, I’m Chuck Quirmbach.