Reducing Mercury Levels
 
Wisconsin has taken several actions to reduce the level of mercury in the environment. The state has banned the sale of mercury in batteriest and is working to remove mercury in thermometer and other equiptment used in homes, school, and at work. The state is also developing rules to require major sources to reduce their mercury admissions and working with the Environmental Protection Agency to develope a broader mercury reduction effort. Wisconsin is one of more than forty states to issue fish consumption advisories due to the toxic level of mercury found in fish. In fact, the DNR has issued a list of wisconsin waters that have a "high" advisory status. Some of those waters include, Lake Wissota, Chippewa River, parts of the St. Croix and Mississippi Rivers, and all of the Great Lakes.
 
 

Take Action

Write or call your elected leaders; State Legislators, the Governor, President Bush, and others. Let them know that the state's natural water systems are important to you. Below is a sample letter provided by Clean Wisconsin:

Dear Senator/Representative,

Mercury pollution threatens my family’s health, fishing tradition, and tourism economy. I support reducing mercury pollution from the smokestacks of Wisconsin’s coal-burning power plants by 90%.

We can’t afford to wait for the federal government to take action to reduce mercury pollution in Wisconsin lakes. The federal proposal may allow Wisconsin power plants to avoid making mercury cuts.

Please do everything in your power to quickly adopt strong state mercury reductions from power plants.

For More sample letters provided by Clean Wisconsin, please click here.

 

The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources has set up The Mercury Reduction Program and has developed partnerships with the seventeen communities listed below to assist them. The goals of the program are to :

  1. Reduce the use of mercury
  2. Promote mercury recycling
  3. Reduce mercury spills
For More Information Please click here.
 

More Possible Steps to reducing mercury

  • Control technology standards
  • Mercury emissions cap and reduction schedule
  • Tax on toxic materials in products
  • Emission fees
  • Energy conservation
  • Renewable resources
  • Better public education
 

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