(CNN) -- This November, the Obama administration is expected to move forward with long overdue safeguards that would finally protect our families from mercury pollution. As the mother of four children, I can only say it's about time.
The EPA was first charged with limiting toxic air pollutants such as mercury during the Bush administration -- the first Bush administration. I don't know how many children have been exposed to dangerous levels of this neurotoxin during the subsequent 20-plus years of foot-dragging, but I do know that my eldest daughter was one of them.
When Sophie was 4 years old, we discovered that her mercury levels were elevated. We were already concerned because her learning had leveled off and in some notable ways even backslid. But it was only by chance that we realized she was being poisoned. Because we lived in an old house with lead paint, we had been following our pediatrician's advice to have our children tested regularly for lead and other heavy metals. Only because of this were we lucky enough to learn about our daughter's elevated mercury levels before it was too late.
How does a healthy, well-nourished child get mercury poisoning in her own home? By far the most common exposure to mercury comes from eating contaminated fish. Sophie adored tuna fish sandwiches and ate one or two a week. That was a small amount but enough to cause her harm. When, on a doctor's advice, we took fish out of her diet, her mercury levels declined.
We must stop allowing mercury pollution - CNN.com
The EPA was first charged with limiting toxic air pollutants such as mercury during the Bush administration -- the first Bush administration. I don't know how many children have been exposed to dangerous levels of this neurotoxin during the subsequent 20-plus years of foot-dragging, but I do know that my eldest daughter was one of them.
When Sophie was 4 years old, we discovered that her mercury levels were elevated. We were already concerned because her learning had leveled off and in some notable ways even backslid. But it was only by chance that we realized she was being poisoned. Because we lived in an old house with lead paint, we had been following our pediatrician's advice to have our children tested regularly for lead and other heavy metals. Only because of this were we lucky enough to learn about our daughter's elevated mercury levels before it was too late.
How does a healthy, well-nourished child get mercury poisoning in her own home? By far the most common exposure to mercury comes from eating contaminated fish. Sophie adored tuna fish sandwiches and ate one or two a week. That was a small amount but enough to cause her harm. When, on a doctor's advice, we took fish out of her diet, her mercury levels declined.
We must stop allowing mercury pollution - CNN.com