Mallinckrodt company's petition to review a lower federal court was recently denied by the US Supreme Court. The lower court had ordered the company to conduct a multi-year study of mercury pollution in Maine's Penobscot River. the NRDC and local partners showed that mercury pollution from the company's manufacturing facility had migrated downstream for almost twenty miles, contaminating fish and wildlife and threatening human health. Mercury is a potent toxin than can cause birth defects. The case went to trial in 2002. The Supreme Court's refusal to intervene affirms the right of private environmental action groups to enforce environmental laws on behalf of members affected by pollution in the absence of government action. The study is expected to cost about $4 million and will determine the most effective remedial action. [photo: Penobscot River at Old Town, ME]
Saturday, February 16, 2008
Mercury Polluter Suffers Setback
Mallinckrodt company's petition to review a lower federal court was recently denied by the US Supreme Court. The lower court had ordered the company to conduct a multi-year study of mercury pollution in Maine's Penobscot River. the NRDC and local partners showed that mercury pollution from the company's manufacturing facility had migrated downstream for almost twenty miles, contaminating fish and wildlife and threatening human health. Mercury is a potent toxin than can cause birth defects. The case went to trial in 2002. The Supreme Court's refusal to intervene affirms the right of private environmental action groups to enforce environmental laws on behalf of members affected by pollution in the absence of government action. The study is expected to cost about $4 million and will determine the most effective remedial action. [photo: Penobscot River at Old Town, ME]