August 19, 2004
Contact: Arthur Stamoulis
(215) 567-4004 ext. 222

WOMEN AND CHILDREN'S HEALTH:
MERCURY IN FISH A SIGNIFICANT HEALTH RISK TO
PREGNANT WOMEN AND CHILDREN
Women Advised to Limit Consumption of Certain Types of Fish

Philadelphia, PA - Standing beside a giant inflated model of a fish in Center City today, public health advocates warned that consuming certain types of fish with high levels of mercury contamination can cause learning disabilities and developmental problems in children. Pregnant women, nursing mothers, young children and women who may become pregnant were all warned to avoid eating any swordfish, tilefish, king mackerel or shark and to carefully limit their consumption of albacore "white" tuna and any fish caught in Pennsylvania.

"Mercury is a highly toxic chemical that can cause a wide range of health and developmental problems in children. Eating mercury-contaminated fish is the primary way that people are exposed to mercury. Thus, pregnant women and young children need to be very careful about the types and quantities of fish they eat," said Dr. James Plumb, Associate Vice President for Community Health at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital.

"I don't want to expose my baby to any health risk that can be easily avoided," said Lauren Hook, a graduate student and first-time expectant mother. "I limit my baby's exposure to mercury by limiting the types of fish in my diet, but I'd rather see mercury pollution be prevented in the first place. I shouldn't have to change what I eat just so polluters can keep polluting."

Coal-fired power plants are the nation's largest industrial source of mercury emissions. Unlike other major sources of mercury emissions, power plants are allowed to emit unlimited amounts of mercury into the air, which then mixes with rain and snow, falls onto the land and into water bodies, and ultimately enters the food chain. Power plants in Pennsylvania emitted 7,427 pounds of mercury in 2001, ranking the state 3rd in the country for the highest emission levels.

"Pennsylvanians should be able to eat fish without worrying that it is contaminated with mercury. Unfortunately, current pollution levels make that impossible," said Arthur Stamoulis, a policy analyst for Clean Air Council, a statewide environmental group. "The ultimate solution to mercury contamination is stopping pollution from occurring in the first place."

"The federal government's current mercury proposal allows power plants to continue polluting at dangerously high rates," said Stamoulis. "One in six American women of childbearing age has unsafe levels of mercury in her blood. This means that 630,000 of the four million babies that are born each year already have been exposed to enough mercury to cause serious health problems. This is no time for the Bush administration to be giving polluters a free pass. Pennsylvania's senators and representatives should join legislators from other states in the call for stronger mercury protections."

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