Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
CHAPTER 16
Integrating Mercury Science and Environmental Policy
A State Perspective
C. MARK SMITH
Mercury is also a multimedia pollutant that is subject to
atmospheric transport, with both long-range and near-fi eld
deposition. Atmospheric transport of mercury from upwind
emission sources creates important geopolitical policy
issues for many states and countries (U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency [USEPA], 1997a; Fitzgerald, et al. 1998;
Northeast States For Coordinated Air Use Management
[NESCAUM], 1998b; United Nations Environment
Programme [UNEP]. 2003). This is particularly the case for
the Northeast states, where local and regional pollution-
reduction efforts have proven insuffi cient to address the
adverse impacts of many air pollutants, including mercury,
acidifying pollutants, ozone, and particulates, attribut-
able to upwind emission sources (NESCAUM, 1998a, 2003;
Miller, 1999; Smith and Trip, 2005).
In the United States, innovative environmental policies
are frequently initiated at the state level (Smith and Trip,
2005). U.S. environmental statutes facilitate state policy
and regulatory experimentation by allowing the states, in
most instances, to establish regulations more stringent than
those adopted federally. Concerned over evidence of wide-
spread mercury contamination of fi sh and faced with what
many perceived as insuffi cient federal efforts to address
mercury pollution through the mid-2000's, the states have
taken a leadership role in many mercury pollution reduc-
tion efforts. This chapter briefl y highlights some of the state
mercury initiatives underway and the roles of science and
monitoring in helping to inform and guide these efforts.
STATE MERCURY INITIATIVES: A NATIONAL OVERVIEW
Mercury-Added Products
Emission Sources
Monitoring and Research
Interstate Coordination
THE QUICKSILVER CAUCUS
Overview
Information Sharing and Capacity Building between the States,
the EPA, and UNEP
Pollution Prevention and Stewardship Approaches to Reduce
Mercury in the Environment
Safe, Long-Term Storage of Excess Commodity Elemental
Mercury Nationally and Internationally
NEW ENGLAND GOVERNORS AND EASTERN CANADIAN PREMIERS
MERCURY ACTION PLAN
Overview
Basis of the Mercury Action Plan
Progress as of 2008
STATE PERSPECTIVES ON MERCURY POLICY AND SCIENCE
CONCLUSIONS
Persistent, bio-accumulative, and toxic (PBT) pollutants are
of particular concern to environmental and public health
policy makers because of their potential for adverse multi-
generational effects that often range far beyond their site of
initial release. PBTs, like mercury, which cause adverse neu-
rodevelopmental effects, raise additional concerns because
of their long-term individual and societal impacts as well
as ethical considerations relating to the involuntary nature
of the exposure. Personal and societal concerns about the
well-being of children are also paramount. These attributes
underpin the priority status that mercury pollution has
been afforded by many states as well as their focus on pre-
cautionary approaches to the issue.
State Mercury Initiatives: A National Overview
The majority of states have programs addressing one or
more issues relating to mercury. These include actions to
reduce mercury pollution attributable to air emission point
sources, wastewater discharges and sludge reuse; reduce
mercury use in products; increase recovery and recycling of
