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Did you know that:
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between January 1, 1998 and June 30, 2000 over 500 pounds of mercury
were collected from thermostats in the U.S. and recycled;
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in Canada, there has been an approximately 80% reduction in releases
of mercury from the 1988 base;
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three major U.S. automobile manufacturers have pledged to a 100%
reduction of PCBs (toxic substance found in electrical equipment) by
2006;
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in Canada, 70% of the high level PCBs formerly in service have now
been destroyed;
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the United States government has confirmed that the pesticides aldrin,
dieldrin, chlordane, DDT, mirex, and toxaphene are no longer used or
released from sources entering the Great Lakes, and the Canadian
government has confirmed that these substances are no longer generated,
used or released in Ontario
You can learn about similar toxic reduction achievements by reading the
Great Lakes Binational Toxics Strategy (GLBTS) 2000 Progress Report, which
was recently released by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and
Environment Canada (EC).
The GLBTS is an agreement between the U.S. and Canadian governments
signed in 1997 that sets specific goals to reduce persistent,
bioaccumulative, toxic (PBT) pollutants in the Great Lakes Basin over a
ten-year period. These pollutants are especially dangerous to human health
because they become more concentrated as they work their way up the food
chain, and they remain in the environment for a long time. A number of
adverse health and ecological effects have been linked to PBT pollutants;
expecting mothers, fetuses and children are especially vulnerable to health
damage from PBTs present in the food supply and the environment. Mercury and
PCBs are just two of the several PBTs that the GLBTS addresses.
According to David A. Ullrich, U.S. EPA's Acting Great Lakes National
Program Manager:
"The Great Lakes
Binational Toxics Strategy depends on voluntary actions taken in local
communities and in industry to reduce the amount of PBTs in the
environment. The participation of Great Lakes stakeholders is crucial to
the progress that we can make towards eliminating persistent, toxic
substances from the air, water, and food chain."
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