That is why I am pleased to announce today several new initiatives this Administration will undertake to further safeguard the health of the Great Lakes. By protecting the environment of the Great Lakes we are also protecting the health of both our families and our economies well into the century to come. These pollutants can attack the liver, kidneys and the nervous, reproductive and immune systems in both humans and animals. The idea is that this poisonous plume will reach safe levels as it moves further out into the lake. We can do better.
Dilution's no solution.
Bioaccumulating toxic chemicals are not known for their ability to become diluted. Despite their great depth and size, the Great Lakes are vulnerable to toxic pollutants because they remain in the lakes for many years. Even in small amounts, they become more concentrated as they move through the food chain, from plants to fish and animals and ultimately to humans. The elimination of these so called mixing zones would dramatically reduce direct discharges of mercury into the Great Lakes Basin by up to 90 percent. Our proposal, when final, would immediately prohibit all new discharges and would phase out the use of existing mixing zones for BCCs over a 10-year period.