NOTE TO JAN

Five tons is still a bigger number then 17 micrograms .....

Joel

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"If New Jersey's mercury rules were enacted nationally, annual
emissions from power plants alone would decline from approximately 48
tons to about five tons," DEP Commissioner Bradley Campbell said.

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Posted on Fri, Nov. 05, 2004




N.J. tightens limits on arsenic, mercury

Pollution rules target coal-fired power plants, municipal trash
burning, and drinking water.

Associated Press

New Jersey will dramatically toughen the legal limits on arsenic in
drinking water and on mercury emissions from power plants.

The state Department of Environmental Protection called the pollution
rules, formally adopted yesterday, the nation's strongest.

The 10 coal-fired power plants in the state must cut mercury emissions
by 90 percent before December 2007. Municipal trash incinerators have
seven years to cut mercury emissions back to 95 percent of what was
measured in 1990.

Arsenic in drinking water must stay below five parts per billion, half
the newest federal standard for clean water.

"If New Jersey's mercury rules were enacted nationally, annual
emissions from power plants alone would decline from approximately 48
tons to about five tons," DEP Commissioner Bradley Campbell said.

Several methods exist to allow water to be cleaned beyond the limits
set by the federal government, he said.

"We can provide greater health protections, reducing the risk of
cancers from arsenic in drinking water," Campbell said.

More than 600 public water systems and 900 additional water systems
are monitored for arsenic. New Jersey also requires private wells to
be tested when homes are sold.

DEP officials estimate that 135 water systems will not meet the new
standard, which is to go into effect in January 2006.

Arsenic is found naturally throughout New Jersey, particularly in the
north, where it can leach out of rock formations.

Mercury poisoning comes from eating contaminated fish. The metal
accumulates in water. Health authorities say pregnant women and
children are at risk of brain damage from exposure to even low levels
of mercury.