Posted by
Rich on Friday, March 21, 2008 9:27:31 AM
The
liberal Sarasota Herald-Tribune's editorial board has an interesting
article lamenting the removal of Dr. Deborah Rice from an EPA panel
titled, "Chemical conflicts".
They
and the Democratic leadership are concerned that politics may get in
the way of public health and safety because Dr. Rice was not allowed to
stay on a panel reviewing the potential dangers of a chemical
(olybrominated diphenyl ether [PBDE] known as deca) used in flame
retardants in electronic equipment.
What the Herald-Tribune does not tell you is that Dr. Rice is also an expert on the effects of methylmercury exposure to children and adults.
In 2003 Dr. Rice addressed the effects of methylmercury to the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works. During this testimony she concluded that, "at
least eight studies have found an association between methylmercury
levels and impaired neuropsychological performance in the child....there
is a substantial percentage of women of reproductive age in the United
States with levels of methylmercury in their bodies above what EPA
considers a safe level."
She when on to say, "As a result of
this, over 300,000 newborns each year are exposed to methylmercury
above levels US EPA believes to be “safe”....increased exposure to
methylmercury may result in atherosclerosis, heart attack, and even
death from heart attack in men, suggesting that an additional large
segment of the population may be at risk as a result of environmental
methylmercury exposure."
This is the same Herald-Tribune editorial board that touted a new energy bill passed by the Democratic Congress this year in their editorial, "Jump start for energy policy".
Dropped
into this new energy bill by the Democrat leadership in Congress is a
provision to mandate the phase-out of the 125-year-old incandescent
bulb in the next four to 12 years in favor of a new generation of
trendy, supposedly energy-efficient compact fluorescent bulbs (CFLs),
pictured above.
These bulbs contain mercury!
Mercury
helps create the increased efficiency of a CFL bulb. If the bulb
breaks, the mercury will contaminate an area. Secondly, when these
millions of bulbs burn out they will be disposed of into our land fills.
Our
question is why didn't the Democratic leadership listen to Dr. Rice and
the serious health consequences of mercury? Given the current health
risks from mercury exposure why did they add this new risk and mandate
that the risk be brought into American homes?
It is interesting
how the Democratic leadership is concerned when a scientist that
disagrees with the chemical industry is dismissed from a panel but that
same scientist is not listened to by the Democratic leadership when it
comes to the dangers of another chemical made by the same industry that
they mandate be put in all our homes.
Democrats mandating the
use of light bulbs that contain mercury is like mandating the use of
toys or paint that contain lead. There is no difference. Democrats
are putting our children, our homes and our lives at risk in the name
of the environment.
This is insane. What do you think?