By: Carolina Peña, EcoMadres Project Manager, Moms Clean Air Force
Date: May 9, 2023
About: Environmental Protection Agency Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OAR-2018-0794
To: Environmental Protection Agency
Good afternoon. My name is Carolina Peña-Alarcon. I live in Arlington, Virginia. I am here today as a concerned citizen, daughter, aunt, and godmother. I am the manager of EcoMadres, the Latino engagement program of Moms Clean Air Force, which brings together Latinos to address clean air, climate, and toxin issues affecting the health of Latino children and families.
This is why I am here today to speak out and strongly support EPA's proposal to strengthen the Mercury and Air Toxics Standards.
I want to raise my voice for pregnant women and for those of childbearing age. I am genuinely concerned about these issues. I know that during pregnancy, mercury can easily cross the placental barrier and concentrate in the brain of a developing fetus, where it can disrupt the growth of that precious organ. Babies and children are more vulnerable than adults to the health effects of mercury. When a woman is pregnant, mercury in her blood can harm her baby, even if it doesn't cause any immediate health problems.
Through the EcoMadres program, our state coordinators in Colorado, Iowa, Nevada, New Mexico, and Texas, and the national team based in Maryland, Virginia, and Washington DC, we have all had the opportunity to meet with Latino families. Through our community events at farmers' markets, churches, and national parks, the common theme is concern for health; we have heard countless stories of families with children who suffer the consequences of air pollution.
Mercury exposure is widely recognized as a global public health problem, but Latino communities are unequally and unfairly burdened by this dangerous pollution. This is because we live in places where there is a disproportionate exposure to emissions from coal-fired power plants, and of course this is the source from which mercury is released into the air by power plants and chemical companies.
Additionally, Latinos tend to fish in their immediate urban communities due to a lack of adequate transportation to safe fishing grounds. Fish caught in these areas tend to have the highest concentrations of mercury; as a result,
Once again, strengthening the Mercury and Air Toxics Standards is a crucial step to protect America's children, and an important step for environmental justice for communities of color and low-income communities. I strongly support EPA's proposal to strengthen the rules on mercury and air toxics and call on EPA to finalize these rules as soon as possible.
Thank you for the opportunity to comment today.