WASHINGTON—Jackie Savitz, director of Oceana’s campaign to stop seafood contamination, released the following statement today following ERCO Worldwide’s announcement to convert their Port Edwards chlor-alkali facility from mercury based technology to membrane technology:

“ERCO’s commitment to eliminate the use of mercury at its Port Edwards chlorine facility in Wisconsin is great news for public health and the environment. Of the nine plants that were using mercury-cell technology to make chlorine when our campaign began in 2005, only four remain that have not committed to stop using mercury. We hope ERCO’s decision will soon be replicated by the four remaining plants that continue to use 110-year-old technology, which results in the release of four times more mercury per plant, on average, than the average power plant.”

“Since the chlorine industry continues to do well economically, it makes perfect sense for the remaining facilities to invest in mercury-free technology now. And as shown in Oceana’s recent report, Cleaning Up: Taking Mercury-Free Chlorine Production to the Bank, switching to mercury-free technology allows for increased energy efficiency and provides an opportunity to increase capacity, sales and profits.”

“Ninety percent of the industry has already moved away from mercury technology in the United States, showing that the use of mercury to produce chlorine is completely unnecessary. We hope that our campaign to stop the use of mercury-cell technology in chlorine production will continue to shine light on the hundreds of pounds of unnecessary pollution that the remaining four plants continue to release into the air each year.”

Oceana campaigns to protect and restore the world’s oceans. Our teams of marine scientists, economists, lawyers and advocates win specific and concrete policy changes to reduce pollution and to prevent the irreversible collapse of fish populations, marine mammals and other sea life. Global in scope and dedicated to conservation, Oceana has campaigners based in North America (Washington, DC; Juneau, AK; Portland, OR; Monterey, CA; Santa Monica,, CA), Europe (Madrid, Spain; Brussels, Belgium) and South America (Santiago, Chile).  More than 300,000 members and e-activists in over 150 countries have already joined Oceana.