Rather than resist lower levels of mercury emissions, the Bush administration would do well to support them ried to find a mercury thermometer lately? If they seem elusive, there's a reason. Mercury is a T known toxin, particularly damaging to the nervous system. Because of its dangerous qualities, most industrial uses of mercury have been severely restricted. However, mercury emissions from coal-fired power plants -- Ohio is a leader in air pollution from power plants -- remain virtually unregulated.

That began to change during the 1990s, after a successful lawsuit against the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency by the Natural Resources Defense Council. In 1998, courts ordered the EPA to determine by December 2004 deadlines for reducing power-plant emissions of specific toxic materials. The goal is to cut mercury emissions by 90 percent.

However, last December, the Bush administration astonished the environmental community by deciding that mercury should not be regulated as a toxic substance. The determination paved the way for an industry-supported, market-based solution that critics charge needlessly jeopardizes public health.

Bush's "Clear Skies Initiative" permits cleaner-operating power plants, if they meet acceptable levels for such pollutants as sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide, to trade pollution credits with dirty power plants. The new rule would enable such credit trading for mercury as well.

Unfortunately, environmental testing has shown that mercury does not travel in the atmosphere nearly as far as other compounds. Instead, it creates mercury "hot spots" in regions immediately surrounding coal-fired power plants.

The Bush administration is playing a dangerous game by downplaying mercury's toxicity. Children and pregnant or nursing women are advised not to eat certain kinds of fish because of their high mercury content. Mercury contamination has been linked to birth defects and developmental delays in children exposed to the heavy metal. A recent study by the National Wildlife Federation found that mercury-laden rain concentrates contamination in rivers and streams instead of diluting it. More, bacterial action on mercury makes it even more toxic.

EPA Director Michael Leavitt, responding to protests over the new rules, has ordered a new round of studies, yet it is doubtful new studies will show mercury to be any less a threat to human health.

Instead, the EPA should push toward rules that will meet the December deadline imposed by the courts. The technology exists to reduce mercury emissions substantially. American Electric Power and Cinergy have begun to address the threat. Other power companies and the Bush administration should follow their lead, not walk backward.

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