NEW YORK, April 13 (UPI) -- Seven states in the U.S. Northeast are joining forces to stop airborne mercury from drifting in from the Midwest.
The states say they've done all they can to reduce mercury within their own borders and they need to stop the mercury that comes from states to the west with a large number of coal-fired power plants, The New York Times reported.
Pete Grannis, commissioner of the New York Department of Environmental Conservation says New York and other Northeast states are going to try to "gang up on Washington" to force the federal government to enact tougher standards on mercury emissions.
The group includes New York, Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Vermont.
Harmful levels of mercury have led to health advisories limiting the consumption of sport fish taken from thousands of lakes and rivers in the Northeast, the newspaper said.
