,,iii  #aaith ,,congress  #ast ,session 
,s4 ,,res4 #efj  ,,in ,,the ,,senate    
,,of ,,the ,,united ,,states  ,december 
#ag1 #bjbe,mr4 ,whitehouse 7for himself1
 ,mr4 ,merkley1 ,mr4 ,schatz1 ,mr4      
,markey1 ,mr4 ,van ,hollen1 ,ms4        
,duckworth1 ,mr4 ,padilla1 ,mr4 ,welch1 
and ,ms4 ,blunt ,rochester7 submitted   
the following resolution2 which was     
referred to the ,committee on           
,environment and ,public ,works         
,,resolution  ,recognizing that mercury 
pollution can cause severe health       
problems1 including permanent brain     
damage1 kidney damage1 and birth        
defects4  ,whereas mercury is a powerful
 neurotoxin2 ,whereas mercury occurs    
naturally in coal1 petroleum1 and       
natural gas1 and burning those fossil   
fuels releases mercury into the         
atmosphere2 ,whereas mercury emitted    
into the atmosphere enters the ground1  
water1 and food system2 ,whereas        
consuming fish from mercury-contaminated
 waterbodies is the most common way     

people are exposed to dangerous levels  
of mercury2 ,whereas all #ej ,states    
maintain web pages to issue fish        
advisories for mercury-contaminated     
waterbodies and the ,department of      
,public ,health and ,environment of the 
,state of ,colorado reports that1 as of 
#bjbe1 there were more than #c1gjj      
mercury advisories in effect across the 
,united ,states2 ,whereas fossil        
fuel-fired power plants are the largest 
source of mercury emissions in the      
,united ,states2 ,whereas an estimated  
#hj1jjj1jjj individuals in the ,united  
,states live within #c miles of a fossil
 fuel-fired power plant1 approximately  
#ag1jjj1jjj of whom are children2       
,whereas exposure to mercury can cause  
severe health problems1 including       
permanent brain damage1 kidney damage1  
birth defects1 and heart disease2       
,whereas gestational mercury exposure is
 particularly dangerous and babies born 
after mercury exposure in the womb can  
exhibit severe intellectual impairment1 

as well as ataxia and cerebral palsy1   
seizures1 vision and hearing loss1      
delayed developmental milestones1       
language disorders1 and problems with   
motor function1 visual spatial          
abilities1 and memory2 and ,whereas     
there is no known safe level of exposure
 to mercury3 ,now1 therefore1 be it     
,that-- 7#a7 the ,senate recognizes that
 mercury pollution can cause severe     
health problems1 including permanent    
brain damage1 kidney damage1 and birth  
defects2 and  7#b7 it is the sense of   
the ,senate that the ,environmental     
,protection ,agency should not loosen   
controls on mercury pollution from power
 plants4