U.S. Proposes Easing Rules on Emissions of Mercury By JENNIFER 8. LEE, NYTimes

The Bush administration is proposing that mercury emissions from coal-burning power plants should not be regulated in the same way as some of the most toxic air pollutants, reversing a stance on air pollution control taken by the Clinton administration in 2000. …

The agency is suggesting that mercury emissions be removed from the most stringent regulations of the Clean Air Act that have been used to limit the most toxic air pollutants. Among those are asbestos, chromium and lead, which have been known to cause cancers and neurological disorders. …

Environmental groups criticize the market-based proposal, saying it would allow hot spots of mercury contamination to build up. Mercury, a known neurotoxin, accumulates in the environment and builds up in the tissue of fish and the species, including humans, that eat them. It is considered particularly hazardous for pregnant women because of the developmental effects on fetuses.

“Mercury is a serious public health threat,” said Carol M. Browner, who served as E.P.A. administrator under President Bill Clinton. …

This is the administration’s second major policy shift on power plant regulations in the last month, both of which have come after extensive industry lobbying. In November, E.P.A.’s chief of enforcement, J. P. Suarez, told his staff that the agency would stop pursuing Clean Air Act enforcement cases against coal-burning power plants.