{"id":3519,"date":"2012-06-21T12:23:29","date_gmt":"2012-06-21T17:23:29","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/climate411\/?p=3519"},"modified":"2012-06-21T12:23:29","modified_gmt":"2012-06-21T17:23:29","slug":"why-it-matters-the-senate-vote-on-a-toxic-resolution","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/climate411\/2012\/06\/21\/why-it-matters-the-senate-vote-on-a-toxic-resolution\/","title":{"rendered":"Why It Matters: the Senate Vote on a Toxic Resolution"},"content":{"rendered":"

When the Senate voted\u00a0down \u00a0S.J Res. 37 <\/em>by a margin of 53 to 46 yesterday, we at EDF cheered.<\/p>\n

The measure would have\u00a0nixed the new Mercury and Air Toxics Standards<\/a> that were just finalized by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Those new standards are one of the most important steps EPA has ever taken to clean up our air and protect public health.<\/p>\n

EDF\u2019s own Fred Krupp<\/a> summed up the bipartisan vote this way:<\/p>\n

[They] voted against S. J. Res 37. That means they voted for<\/em> cleaner, healthier, safer air for all Americans. They voted to let EPA do its job, and reduce the mercury and other toxic pollution emitted from power plants into the air we breathe. They voted to save up to 11,000 lives each year, to help prevent neurological damage in babies, and to make it safer to eat fish caught in American waters.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

But there\u2019s a lot more to say about why this vote was so critical \u2013 and why these standards are so important.<\/p>\n

First, let\u2019s look at the standards themselves. \u00a0<\/p>\n

The Mercury and Air Toxics Standards<\/a> limit the amount of mercury, arsenic, acid gases, and other noxious\u00a0toxins that can be emitted by power plants.<\/p>\n

The kinds of pollution covered by the standards are all extremely hazardous to human health. Mercury, for instance, impairs brain and neurological development in babies \u2013 including those exposed before birth.<\/p>\n

The main way people are exposed to mercury is through eating contaminated fish. All 50 states have mercury fish consumption advisories<\/strong>, meaning that mercury has gotten into waterbodies like lakes and ponds and made the fish in those waters potentially unsafe for humans to eat.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s why pregnant women are warned about eating certain kinds of fish. But still, one in ten American women<\/strong> of child-bearing age have potentially dangerous levels of mercury in their bloodstream, and about 400,000 babies<\/strong> are born here every year who were exposed to unsafe levels of mercury in the womb.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The power sector is the largest source of many toxic emissions, including mercury. Coal-fired power plants emit 50% of all the mercury pollution <\/strong>in our air<\/strong>, as well as 77% of all acid gases, and 62% of all arsenic.<\/p>\n

Other sectors have long since reduced emissions of toxic pollutants like mercury. Cost-effective (and American made) pollution-control measures, like scrubbers, are available for power plants too.<\/p>\n

The Mercury and Air Toxics Standards<\/a> have been in the works for 20 years. Once they\u2019re finally in effect, the standards will ensure that approximately 90% of the mercury<\/strong> in coal burned by power plants is not emitted to our air.<\/p>\n

The standards will also:<\/p>\n