FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
February 8, 2006

CONTACT:
Christina Kreitzer, Sierra Club Media Campaigner, (415) 977-5619
Jane Kochersperger, Greenpeace Media Officer, (202) 319-2493


  ONE IN FIVE WOMEN TESTED NATIONWIDE HAS MERCURY LEVELS HIGHER THAN EPA
                                   LIMIT
Interim Results of Largest Mercury Hair Sampling Project Confirm Impacts of
                                Dirty Power

Washington - Interim results of the nation’s largest mercury hair sampling
project were released today by the Environmental Quality Institute (EQI) at
the University of North Carolina-Asheville. The report found mercury levels
exceeding the EPA’s recommended limit of one microgram of mercury per gram
of hair in one in five women of childbearing age tested.

More than 6,600 people from 50 states of all ages participated in the hair
tests conducted by Greenpeace and the Sierra Club. Mercury contamination is
a particular concern for women of childbearing years (16 to 49 years old)
and their small children (under the age of six) because mercury exposure in
the womb can cause neurological damage and other health problems. The EPA
has not established mercury exposure health standards for older children,
men, or women older than 49.

"We teach our children if you make a mess, you need to clean it up," said
Navis Bermudez, Sierra Club's Environmental Quality Representative. "The
same rule should hold true for polluting power plants. This study should be
a wake-up call for state governments to move to clean sources of energy in
order to keep women and children mercury-free."

Coal burning power plants are the nation’s biggest mercury polluter,
releasing 42 percent of the country’s industrial mercury pollution. Mercury
from dirty power plants falls into lakes, streams and oceans, concentrating
in fish and shellfish, which are then consumed by people.

"In the samples we analyzed, the greatest single factor influencing mercury
exposure was the frequency of fish consumption," said Dr. Steve Patch,
Co-director of EQI and co-author of the report.  "We saw a direct
relationship between people’s mercury levels and the amount of store-bought
fish, canned tuna fish or locally caught fish people consumed."

"Greenpeace started the Mercury Hair Sampling Project in response to
President Bush’s failure to clean up power plant mercury pollution," stated
Greenpeace campaigner Casey Harrell. "It was very disappointing to hear
President Bush call for more coal burning power plants in the State of the
Union address when clean energy sources are available."

In 2005, the EPA proposed weak power plant mercury regulations that violate
the Clean Air Act according to an ongoing lawsuit filed by 15 State
Attorneys General. Switching from coal and oil to wind and solar energy
would reduce pollution and its negative health impacts, help solve global
warming and create jobs.

To purchase a home hair sampling kit, or to view the EQI report and
supporting documents visit:
www.sierraclub.org/mercury

Photos/Video are available at:
http://usaphoto.greenpeace.org/Mercury_Media_Test/

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