On the night before Christmas, many Italian-American families celebrate a traditional meal known as the Feast of the Seven Fishes. But there is another, more unfortunate tradition in New Jersey: the Department of Environmental Protection’s seafood advisories, which warn New Jerseyans, especially women of childbearing age, about the dangers of mercury and other toxins in local seafood. This year, we will have to be careful which fish we serve. Many types of fish and shellfish from waters across the state are labeled unsafe to eat.
However, thanks to the Environmental Protection Agency, we may soon not have to worry about toxic levels of mercury in the fish we eat. In a few days, President Obama is expected to announce new safeguards, designed by the EPA, to dramatically reduce mercury pollution emitted into our air and water. First proposed by then-President George H.W. Bush, these mercury standards are 20 years in the making and will protect women of childbearing age and babies from the birth defects, neurological disorders and developmental delays that are the result of mercury poisoning.
The dangers from mercury, a potent neurotoxin, are real. According to the EPA, as many as one in six women may have levels of mercury in their bodies in excess of recommended amounts. The largest emitters of mercury are coal-fired power plants — dirty, outdated sources of energy that spew a poisonous stew of pollutants into our air and water.
Many power plant operators have already updated their facilities to comply with the forthcoming standard and are asking the Obama administration to implement mercury protections on schedule. Constellation Energy Group, which in 2008 cleaned up one of the nation’s most polluting coal-fired power plants, has asked the president to announce the rule on time, saying: “It’s entirely possible to comply with these rules and remain a profitable company.”
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