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The MOMMIE Awards

Days before the Oscars?, Oceana announced the winners of the inaugural Masters of Making Mercury in the Environment (MOMMIE) Awards, honoring America's chlorine plants for outstanding achievement in the field of poisoning our tuna fish sandwiches.

The MOMMIE Awards spotlight an industry that's overdue for a star turn on the red carpet. Mercury-cell chlorine plants have long been ignored in the shadow of more glamorous offenders, like coal-fired power plants. But as Oceana reports have shown, the chlorine industry is an accomplished polluter in its own right: In 2004 alone, American chlorine plants released a total of 9,000 pounds of mercury into the air and water. Talk about commitment to your craft!

As you know, mercury poses its greatest risks to developing babies, so mommies and future mommies are particularly concerned about mercury pollution. Fortunately, scientists have developed cleaner, more efficient methods of chlorine production. But MOMMIE honorees have shown that none of these alternatives can match the ineffable charm of neurotoxins.



What You Can Do

  • Participate in the national call in below. Tell them the environment can't handle any more award winning behavior.

  • If you can't call one of the companies, email them.


  • Share with friends. Post a virtual yard sign, share the video or post this page to del.icio.us or digg.




    Call In: Go Mercury Free

    Talking Points

  • I'm a concerned citizen calling to urge you to go mercury free at your chlorine plant(s). Your company shares the responsibility to keep our air and water clean with the rest of us. I do my part and so should you.
  • Your chlorine plant is one of only 5 left in the country that has not committed to stop using mercury. Ninety percent of American chlorine is made with modern, mercury-free technology and yours should be too!
  • Not only is mercury free technology good for the environment, it's also good for business. Pioneer Companies recently announced that it would be converting to mercury free technology and estimated it would save $31 million a year in energy and waste management costs.
  • Mercury is a dangerous neurotoxin that is linked to a number of health problems, like learning disabilities and developmental delays in children.

    Who To Call

    If you live near one of the plants, please call them.

    If you don't live near a plant, please call the company listed for the first letter of your first name.

    Near Georgia or Tennessee and A-E Names

    Olin-Lenny Scott, Augusta plant manager, (706) 798-1510 x245 or Joseph D Rupp, CEO, (314) 480-1400.

    No chlorine producer has worked harder than Olin to put mercury on America's dinner tables. Since 1987, Olin plants have emitted 50,000 pounds of mercury, a gleaming 25-ton legacy. Even after all these years, Olin is still operating two plants that have failed to commit to stop using mercury-no other competitor has more than one. Olin is an inspiring example that proves you're never too old to not care.

    In 2006, Olin was the only company operating more than one mercury-based chlorine plant that hadn't committed to stop using mercury. PPG was also operating two such plants until 2005, when it announced that its Lake Charles, LA plant would shift to mercury free production.

    As a whole, Olin's chlorine plants have emitted 50,000 pounds of mercury to the air since 1987, the earliest date for which public records are available, more than any other chlorine company in the country.

    Near Ohio and F-J Names

    Ashta-Richard Jackson, plant manager, (800) 492-5082 or Reginald Baxter, CEO, (440) 997-5221

    Breathtaking. Audacious. Mind-boggling. Those are some of the words used to describe the stunt proposal by ASHTA Chemicals. After being sued by the EPA for excessive emissions at its Ashta, OH chlorine plant, the company claimed it could reduce mercury pollution by 80 percent without switching to mercury-free technology. Skeptics said it was impossible. And, well, it probably is. We won't know until at least 2008. In the meantime, the lawsuit has gone away, and that's the cleverest stunt of all.

    ASHTA received a penalty of $1.5 million for emitting too much mercury; but instead of shifting to mercury free technology and reducing energy costs, the company has opted to spend $6.9 million on an unproven control strategy.

    The company predicts the upgrade will be finished in 2007, but the residents won't know if it worked until at least 2008.

    ASHTA's plant reported to the EPA that it released 813 pounds of mercury to the air in 2004, making it the third largest source of mercury air pollution in the state.

    Near West Virginia and K-O Names

    PPG-Charles Bunch, CEO, (412) 434-3131, or Milton Neal, Plant Manager, (304) 845-5300

    The rebellious, gritty Natrium plant was a MOMMIE shoo-in after a year in which it released 76 times the legal limit of mercury, raising the bar for aspiring polluters. Voters were especially moved by the performance turned in by PPG rep Jeff Worden when he claimed that the Natrium plant ?cannot meet? water quality standards right now. Of course, if the plant switched to mercury free technology, it would release absolutely no mercury into the water.

    Until recently, PPG's Natrium, WV plant was able to release 76 times more mercury than its permit allows into the Ohio River thanks to a special "grace period" it got from the state. When the West Virginia Environmental Quality Board rejected that "grace period", the company failed to take necessary steps to meet the legal limit and, instead, tied up the permit process in the courts. The time in court allows it another kind of "grace period" while it continues to release far more mercury than water quality standards allow.

    PPG's West Virginia plant reported to the EPA that it released 1,248 pounds of mercury to air and water in 2004, making it the largest source of mercury pollution in the state.

    Near Wisconsin and P-Z Names

    ERCO- Paul Timmons, CEO of parent company Superior Plus, (416) 239-7111

    ERCO created a stir in 2006 when it requested a discount on electricity for its Port Edwards, WI chlorine plant. ERCO said the savings would help pay for a switch to mercury-free technology, but when the deal fell through, ERCO was left with a dilemma: hide behind a convenient excuse or accept an inconvenient rate? The MOMMIEs don't know the answer-they're just suckers for melodrama.

    In 2006, ERCO requested that the PSC grant a special electric rate, to save the company $25 million over 10 years and to help pay for an investment in mercury free technology.

    Just in the last two years, two plants have announced that they will invest in mercury free technology without getting any subsidies from the government or consumers. Because mercury free technology creates considerable cost savings through energy efficiency and lowered waste management expenses, Pioneer's St. Gabriel, LA plant, expects to save $31 million per year with more modern technology.

    ERCO's plant reported to the EPA that it released 1,118 pounds of mercury to air and water in 2004, making it the largest mercury polluter in Wisconsin, responsible for nearly a third of the state's mercury air emissions.

    Let Us Know How It Went





    Questions? Contact Beth Kemler, Seafood Campaign Organizer, at 877-7OCEANA or mercury@oceana.org.

    More Info

  • The full MOMMIE Awards list
  • More about mercury-cell chlorine plants
  • More about mercury's health effects


    save to del.icio.us save to digg Disclaimer: Oceana is not affiliated with the Chlorine Institute or any of its members, including the companies above