Say YES to Healthy Communities & NO to More Mercury in the Ohio!

Submit A Letter To ORSANCO

Over 30 million pounds of toxic pollution is dumped in the Ohio River every year - more than any other river in the United States. This pollution includes over 96,000 pounds of cancer causing toxins such as arsenic and chromium, and over 67,000 pounds of developmental and reproductive toxins such as PCBs, lead, mercury, and dioxin. Tests conducted by the Ohio River Valley Water Sanitation Commission (ORSANCO) reveal over 800 miles of the Ohio River is currently polluted for mercury, and the problem is only getting worse every year.  

Mercury Threatens Public Health

Mercury is a dangerous “persistent bio-accumulative reproductive and neurological” toxin, meaning it remains poisonous for a long time. The toxin builds up in big fish as they eat many smaller fish, and affects the human brain, spinal cord, kidneys, liver, immune system, and pituitary gland. People are exposed to mercury through air emissions and by eating fish and seafood containing mercury from polluted waters; and poisoned as the mercury builds up over time in the body. Chronic mercury exposure is associated with elevated risks for autism, mental impairment, and Alzheimer's disease. At greatest risk are pregnant women, women of childbearing age, and children who eat fish. Exposure to mercury causes brain and nervous system damage in unborn babies, infants, and children - impairing cognitive thinking, memory, attention, language, motor and visual skill development. A recent UCLA analysis of Center for Disease Control data found inorganic mercury in the blood samples of 30% of childbearing age women.

Every state bordering the Ohio River has issued fish consumption advisories to inform the public about the possible risks of eating some fish due to elevated levels of mercury and other toxins. Despite these warnings, 13 million pounds of Ohio River fish are consumed every year according to a recent ORSANCO survey.

Polluters Want to Dump More Mercury in the Ohio 

Now, coal power plants and other polluters want to continue dumping mercury into the Ohio River at levels greater than deemed safe. ORSANCO's existing Pollution Control Standards eliminate “mixing zones” for mercury and other toxins on October 16, 2013. A mixing zone is an area where toxic pollution is allowed to be dumped in quantities greater than health standards and diluted to meet the legal limits for water quality. ORSANCO is currently considering a proposal to weaken their Standards to allow polluters to request a waiver that would give them the right to continue to dump mercury and other toxins in mixing zones in the Ohio River in quantities greater than EPA deems safe for at least five years beyond the 2013 moratorium.  

ORSANCO's proposal threatens public health by weakening protections for toxic pollution and could allow more mercury and other toxins to enter the Ohio River for a longer period of time. The public who swim, boat, and fish on the Ohio River deserve as much protection from mercury and other toxic pollution as provided to the Great Lakes and Chesapeake Bay. Demand that ORSANCO protect public health and the environment by maintaining the rules that will restrict mercury pollution in the Ohio River!  

Stop Mercury Rising in the Ohio! Click here to submit comments asking ORSANCO to vote against the rules that would allow more mercury and other toxic pollutants into the Ohio River.