Mercury cuts

Coal-fired power plants in the US could soon face tough new restrictions on
mercury emissions. A National Academy of Sciences’ expert panel has agreed that
exposure to mercury in the womb damages children’s intellectual development,
backing the conclusions of a study in the Faeroe Islands
(New Scientist, 22 November 1997, p 4).
The panel’s decision should allow the Environmental
Protection Agency to impose new restrictions on mercury exposure from December.
The Department of Health had expressed concern that stricter limits would stop
people eating fish, the main source of dietary mercury.