Women and their families gathered today at a downtown
Philadelphia hair salon to volunteer their time and a small portion
of their hair for a new nationwide scientific study by Greenpeace
on mercury poisoning. The event, which collected the inaugural data
for the Greenpeace Hair Sampling Project, educated those in
attendance about the growing national concern over the levels of
the toxic metal mercury in people’s bodies. “The Bush
administration has proposed weakening a Clinton-era decision that
would have reduced mercury emissions from power plants, the leading
cause of mercury pollution in the United States, by 90 percent by
2008. The owners of these plants would have, under the Bush
proposal, 10 to 20 more years to reduce their mercury pollution,
and then only by 70 percent,” stated Lisa Finaldi, Greenpeace
Campaigns Director. “Clearly, the president is not acting to
protect the public from this mercury poisoning.”
The hair sampling event also jumpstarted the creation of the
first chapter of Mothers Opposed to Mercury (MOM), a local citizen
groups that will work with Greenpeace this election year to both
expose the health risks that dirty energy, such as coal, poses to
the American public and to work toward a clean energy solution.
“With Mother’s Day around the corner, Moms are demanding a
change. We are here today to find out our own mercury levels and to
urge Bush to put people and the environment first,” said MOM
supporter Leila Varella.
Local pediatrician Dr. Kevin Browngoehl spoke to participants in
the study about the effects of mercury exposure, saying. “As many
as 600,000 infants born in the U.S. each year may have mercury
levels that place them at risk for brain damage that can effect
them throughout their lives.”
Deficits from mercury that affect the brain include problems
with attention, language and verbal memory. “This damage can
permanently effect their quality of life, academic success and
economic prospects in life. America needs to develop the political
will to eliminate this preventable poisoning of our future, our
children,” Browngoehl continued.
The Hair Sampling for Mercury
Project is part of Greenpeace’s Clean Energy Now Campaign. The
Greenpeace Clean Energy Now! Campaign is part of a global campaign
that is committed to ending our addiction to fossil fuels by
promoting and forcing the increased use of clean energy and energy
efficiency as solutions for the world’s growing power needs. The
campaign has been successful by working with local and state
governments, students, as well as other groups to stop dirty energy
projects and to increase investment in clean energy.
