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News release

Moms Say ‘Thanks’ to EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson for Protecting Kids from Mercury and Arsenic

January 18, 2012

Lisa Lederer, 202-371-1996

MomsRising.org Delivers Tens of Thousands of Thank You Notes from Moms Nationwide
Today, to thank EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson for standing strong to protect children from mercury and arsenic poisoning, MomsRising, the online and on-the-ground grassroots organization for moms and everyone who has a mom fighting for family economic security, presented her with colorful thank you notes from families across the country.  Mocha Moms, the network for stay-at-home moms, and LATism, the largest organization of social media professionals of Hispanic origin, joined MomsRising in making the delivery.
 
 In December of last year, thousands of moms, dads and other people concerned about families’ health sent messages to President Obama and Administrator Jackson urging them to move quickly to put in place strong regulations to reduce pollution from power plants. Within just two weeks, the EPA announced new Mercury and Air Toxics Standards.
 
 “Mercury and other toxic metals, among them arsenic, chromium and nickel should not be in our air,” said MomsRising Executive Director. “Mercury can damage children’s IQ, memory and attention and arsenic, chromium and nickel are cancer-causing agents.  Every day, parents take all kinds of precautions to protect their kids’ health, but it’s hard to protect them from the air that they breathe. Today, we thank Administrator Jackson for helping us keep our kids healthy.”
 
Power plants are the single largest source of mercury and arsenic in the air. The EPA estimates that the new rules will prevent thousands of premature deaths, and tens of thousands of heart attacks, bronchitis cases and asthma attacks, accruing $5 to $13 in health benefits for every dollar spent to reduce pollution from power plants.
 
Several of the thank you notes delivered included personal messages from families, among them:
 
Thank you! Clean air is important to me because I breathe and my children breathe. And none of us get any choice about whether to breathe the clean air or the toxic air. There's only the air - so let's make it as clean as possible.
- Victoria, New York 
 
My 2-year-old grandson, Everett, is one of the many children in Chicago that has struggled with asthma. To see him struggle for breath breaks my heart.  And I know the expense of hospital stays, inhaler medication etc is a strain on the family budget. Air pollution is a big contributor to asthma in Chicago, thank you for helping to protect him and next generation!
- Gullya, Illinois 
 
I’m fond of breathing.
No, really.
When my 2-year-old is sleeping, I still listen for his breathing. Thank you.
- Jeremy, Georgia  
 

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MomsRising.org is an on-the-ground and online grassroots organization of more than a million people who are working to increase family economic security, decrease discrimination against women and moms, and to build a nation where businesses and families can thrive. Established in 2006, MomsRising and its members are organizing and speaking out to improve public policy and to change the national dialogue on issues that are critically important to America’s families, including criminal justice reform, immigration policy reform, and gun safety. MomsRising is working for paid family and medical leave, affordable, high quality childcare and early learning, and for an end to the wage and hiring discrimination which penalizes women — particularly moms and women of color — and so many others. MomsRising advocates for access to healthy food for all kids, health care for all, earned sick days, and breastfeeding rights so that all children can have a healthy start. MomsRising maintains a Spanish language website: MamásConPoder.org. Sign up online at www.MomsRising.org — and follow us on our blog, and on Twitter and Facebook.