Toxic Ohio

[irishbobcat]

Ohio is famous for many things – the Buckeyes, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and being the "Mother of Presidents."

Unfortunately, Ohio also has the dubious and dangerous distinction of being America's third largest emitter of toxic mercury air pollution, one of the most dangerous poisons known to science.

Ohio is home to 33 coal-fired power plants that emit 4,166 pounds of toxic mercury pollution every year.

To put that in perspective, one small drop of mercury pollution per year – about a gram – is enough to render all fish in a 20-acre lake unfit for human consumption.

Across the country, more than 72,000 pounds of mercury air pollution rain down on our communities every year and are absorbed into our streams, rivers, and lakes.

As a result, in 2008, 1.3 million river-miles and 17 million lake-acres – including the entire Great Lakes region – were under mercury-related fish contamination advisories.

Yet, even though Ohio is a major source of toxic mercury air pollution, Ohio has not passed a statewide mercury pollution limit for its power plants, as 17 other states have done.

This is why we need the EPA to support a New Mercury and Air Toxic rule....

The new Mercury and Air Toxics rule will:

Dramatically cut toxic air pollution from America's power plants,
Prevent 17,000 premature deaths and 120,000 cases of childhood asthma symptoms every year, and
Produce an estimated $140 billion in annual health and economic benefits.

Let's make Ohio Green.....not Toxic.....