By: Samantha Schmitz, DC Field Events Coordinator, Moms Clean Air Force
Date: May 9, 2023
About: Environmental Protection Agency Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OAR-2018-0794
To: Environmental Protection Agency
Thank you for the opportunity to testify today. My name is Samantha Schmitz, and I’m the DC Field Events Coordinator for Moms Clean Air Force, currently living in Washington, DC. On behalf of Moms Clean Air Force and families across the country, I strongly support EPA’s proposal to strengthen the Mercury and Air Toxics Standards and encourage EPA to finalize strong standards by the end of the year.
The EPA’s proposed strengthening of the Mercury and Air Toxics Standards is critical to addressing a particularly upsetting problem. Mercury is a potent neurotoxin that can cause permanent damage to the brains of babies and fetuses, leading to developmental delays, learning disabilities, behavioral problems, and birth defects. No level of mercury is safe for anyone’s consumption as it can also cause cardiovascular problems and increase the risk of heart attacks.
When mercury and other toxic chemicals are released into the air from coal-fired power plants they fall into our waterways which then accumulate in fish that are a prominent part of many people’s diets. Yet, pregnant people are often warned not to consume too much fish because of the way mercury accumulates specifically in the developing brains of fetuses. As I consider my own future and my desire to be a parent, I want to be able to feel confident that the food I’m eating is safe for not only me but also doesn’t have dire health consequences for my future children.
Aside from the harms of mercury on pregnant people and developing babies, many communities also rely on fish for various reasons. Growing up in Illinois, my family loved to go fishing but were always wary of fishing in highly polluted areas. Even though my family likely didn’t understand the science at that point, our instincts proved accurate as we otherwise might’ve consumed fish with especially harmful levels of mercury.
While my family fished recreationally, many communities rely on fishing as a primary food source or for economic opportunity while others see it as part of their cultural identity and history. Indigenous communities and low-wealth communities are often overburdened by these impacts of mercury and other toxic heavy metals due to their ties and dependence on fish that are poisoned by coal-fired power plants nearby.
For the protection of pregnant people, developing children, and communities across the country, I strongly support EPA’s proposal to strengthen the Mercury and Air Toxics Standards, and ask that EPA finalize these standards by the end of the year. Thank you for your time.