Targeting mercury in state

As Gov. Baldacci announced the next phase of the HoltraChem cleanup this week, Maine’s mercury efforts again were in the spotlight. The immediate focus was the old HoltraChem plant on the banks of the Penobscot – the need to demolish buildings that are so mercury-contaminated that the debris will be handled as hazardous waste.

The progress of the HoltraChem cleanup is a reminder of the serious environmental and public health threats that could threaten generations to come if we don’t carefully and thoroughly deal with this local legacy from Maine’s past. And we have made significant progress in that regard.

Since 2003, draining, cleaning, dismantling and removing pipes, valves, pumps, tanks, transformers and other equipment have cleared the way to get at the contaminated soil. The groundwater discharge has been virtually eliminated. The landfills have been stabilized.

In May and June of this year alone, 1,430 pounds of metallic mercury was recovered at the site. So, with the eyes drawn to HoltraChem, we see that we’re working diligently to reduce threats posed by mercury. The effort is only part of a bigger picture.

Maine’s mercury problem extends beyond the former HoltraChem site. We now live with the fact that pregnant women and those in their childbearing years should limit their consumption of fish because of mercury. Our loons and other wildlife are at risk, as is

the balance of an ecosystem. The mercury problem is expansive and is complex. So our solution must be too.

A key component is keeping mercury-contaminated products out of the waste stream and out of our incinerators and landfills. That way we reduce the amount of mercury that ends up in our waters, plants, soil, birds, fish and us. We have banned the disposal of mercury-containing products, required recycling and safe handling of these products, and in some cases, banned their sale where there are safer alternatives such as electronic thermostats that work as well as old mercury thermostats.

The most recent example is mercury-containing button cell batteries. Legislation supported and signed by Gov. Baldacci this year closed a long-standing loophole that will keep that toxic material out of our trash and our environment.

This year the governor introduced and the Legislature pass a law that establishes the most stringent mercury emission cap in the country. The strategy is to control the risks we face from in-state sources of mercury in addition to cleaning up the contamination that has already come to pass.

And we know that reducing Maine mercury sources alone is not enough.

A highly regarded study indicates that the mercury that contaminates Maine’s landscape comes from northeastern regional sources, from elsewhere in the United States, and from around the globe. That requires us to step up and take action on a bigger stage. Maine has.

Working through the New England Governors-Eastern Canadian Premiers group, we committed to a regional goal of reducing mercury emissions by fifty percent. We surpassed that goal – reducing emissions 65 percent from 1990 levels – and Maine is recognized as a national leader in implementing a comprehensive mercury reduction.

We do this in the dismaying context of a lack of decisive federal action on the issue. Despite the concerted efforts of Maine’s congressional delegation, there has been no significant national legislation to reduce our exposure to mercury raining down on our state.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, under the Bush administration, has tried to modify the Clean Air Act to undermine some of the protections that have been in place for decades. These plans are companions to other regulatory changes that could actually create mercury “hot spots” instead of reducing the overall risk to the nation.

In 2004, EPA doubled its previous estimate of infants with blood mercury levels higher than 5.8 parts per billion to 630,000 infants nationally at risk of poor brain development due to mercury in their blood. In this context it is stunning that new coal-fired electrical plants are being permitted in the United States without the most advanced mercury controls. These coal-fired plants will unnecessarily belch additional tons of mercury into the air that will come down in Maine – poisoning our waters, fish, birds and ultimately us.

So, when Gov. Baldacci said that HoltraChem is his top priority in terms of environmental cleanup, he spoke in the context that acknowledges Mainers’ hope that we may all soon be able to safely eat the fish we catch.

David Littell is commissioner of the Maine Department of Environmental Protection.