For more than a decade after Congress told EPA to curb dangerous mercury pollution from cement kilns across the nation, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) refused to take action. Now, a new study from Earthjustice and the Environmental Integrity Project (EIP) documents the consequences of the EPA's failure: Cement kilns emit mercury pollution - a threat to the health of pregnant women and children - at more than twice the level estimated as recently as 2006 by the EPA, which only started to collect data on the problem in 2007. The unregulated pollution from cement kilns is emitted in or nearby many major U.S. urban areas and also within a few miles of such major bodies of water as the Chesapeake Bay, Lake Huron and the San Francisco Bay. Mercury pollution already has impaired rivers, lakes, and streams throughout the United States, making certain fish unsafe to eat.

1. For the full press release, click here
2. For the full report, click here (If you are unable to download the full report please click these individual sections: part one, part two, part three, part four )
3. For live streaming audio of the press conference, including a Q&A, and other information on cement kilns click here, for the live streaming audio, please click the link below:  http://www.hastingsgroupmedia.com/072308EIPEJcementkilnreport.wma.
   http://www.hastingsgroupmedia.com/072308EIPEJcementkilnreport.wma.