Senate seeks legislation to reduce unsafe mercury pollution

The Senate Environment and Public Works Committee held a hearing to discuss various pieces of legislation pertaining to the proliferation of mercury in the environment and in exports. Chairman Barbara Boxer (D-CA) could not be present, so Sen. Tom Carper conducted the hearing in her place. Carper said that “one in 17 women of childbearing age have mercury in their blood at levels that could pose a risk to their unborn children,” emphasizing that these groups are most at risk for health threats.

The senators discussed the merits of various mercury legislation including the Clean Air Mercury Rule (CAMR), which Carper said was “flawed” and “did not go far enough to protect the health of America’s vulnerable populations.” He advocated instead the Mercury Emissions Control Act, which “would require the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to issue a new, stronger rule to control mercury emissions from power plants, as required by the Clean Air Act.”

Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ) said that no matter what the costs of implementing measures to decrease mercury pollution, the government should have laws “as strong as we can take” to do so because of the potential threat to human health in both adults and infants.

Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) said that “as long as there have been Americans, there have been dads who took their sons fishing” and that “we are in a situation now where that’s not really feasible any longer” because of mercury pollution in fish that makes it unsafe to eat. He called this a “thievery” of the American experience, and said that he was frustrated to see an EPA that “doesn’t take its duties seriously.”

Senators introduce new bill to improve airline safety

Today Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ) introduced a new bill called the Safety Improvement Act of 2008 to improve airline safety, and was joined by supporters Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-CA) and Sen. Robert Menendez (D-NJ). Patrick Forrey, president of the National Air Traffic Controllers Association, and Transportation Trades Department President Ed Wytkind joined the senators to voice their support. The bill was described as an effort to improve runway safety and reduce risk of collision during take-off and landing, as well as ensure that airport first-responders are prepared to handle an emergency situation.

Lautenberg’s bill would require the Federal Aviation Administration to enact runway safety programs with oversight by the Government Accountability Office, authorize federal spending on airport improvements, and call for a thorough evaluation of current airport equipment and navigation technology.

Boxer said the bill would include a passenger’s bill of rights to help protect consumers from safety violations and extensive delays. Lautenberg said that delays are expected to increase by 60% this year, and runway incursions are expected to rise as well if current trends continue. Forey discussed the fatigue of traffic controllers, and said 6 out of 10 work mandatory overtime and thus are not adequately prepared to safely perform their jobs. All the speakers present also opposed President Bush’s nomination of Robert Sturgell as Acting Administrator of the FAA, citing his failure to improve aviation standards and conditions.