Monday, June 18, 2012

EPA Mercury Rule Under Fire

Doctors recommend that pregnant women stay away from too much fish because of the risks of mercury exposure. ...

This week, the Senate is likely to vote on a bill that would kill EPA’s mercury-reduction regulations. [Some] Senators dispute the value of the measure despite annual health benefits estimated at upwards $140 billion per year.

EPA’s economic analysis does not include many of the risks of mercury pollution because they are extremely [difficult] to assess. 

Discounting the benefits of reducing these risks ... potentially exposes children] to cognitive and social defects, negative autoimmune effects or genetic effects.  

See below for posts on the benefits of the mercury rule from Policy Integrity by Matt Yglesias, Kevin Drum, and Brad Plumer. 

Three cheers for new mercury pollution standards
Environmentalists and public health advocates have a reason to stand up and cheer: Finalized rules to cut down on mercury air pollution are set to be announced today by the EPA. But economists can also feel good about this holiday-season gift of clean air: Two decades of agency analysis have…
December 21st, 2011 | Grist by Michael Livermore 

The EPA may be underestimating the benefits of the new rules. As Michael Livermore points out, mercury is a dangerous neurotoxin for small children, and the EPA’s analysis of that danger is limited to quantifying lost future earnings due to lower IQ. But even a grinch wouldn’t pretend that the… 
December 23rd, 2011 | Slate by Matt Yglesias 

Much of this is due to reductions in particulate matter, not mercury, which suggests that, if anything, the EPA may be underestimating the benefits of the new rules. As Michael Livermore points out, mercury is a dangerous neurotoxin for small children, and the EPA’s analysis of that danger is limited… 
December 23rd, 2011 | Mother Jones by Kevin Drum. 

Now, that doesn’t mean the EPA isn’t cleaning up mercury, or that the mercury benefits are worthless. What it means is that it’s easier to put a hard number on the benefits from cleaning up particulate pollution — by totaling up the dollar value of lives saved — than it… 
December 22nd, 2011 | Washington Post by Brad Plumer 

Edna Ishayik, Communications Director
Policy Integrity www.policyintegrity.org
212-998-6085

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