Coal Campaign to Hold Mercury Hair Testing Event
ATLANTA (October 13, 2011) — The Southern Alliance for Clean Energy (SACE), in conjunction with the Newton County NAACP and the Newton County SCLC, is excited to announce the Quad Js Community Health Fair this coming weekend. Along with general health screenings, SACE will sponsor mercury hair testing to inform citizens about the harmful effects of coal energy in response to plans by local Electric Membership Corporations (EMCs) to build two new coal-fired plants in the state. WHO: Southern Alliance for Clean Energy and Quad Js Hair Salon and Gifts WHAT: Mercury Hair Testing at Community Health FairWHEN: Saturday, October 15, 2011 11a.m. – 2p.m. ESTWHERE: Quad Js Hair Salon & Gifts – 683 Kirkland Road, Covington, Ga. 30016 WHY: Snapping Shoals EMC, a major electricity provider in the Covington community, has partnered with Cobb EMC and other electric membership co-ops in Georgia to build two new coal plants in the state. Studies show that the plants will raise co-op members’ bills by $200 per year, and cause numerous ill health effects. The point of the hair testing is to make people aware of their own mercury levels, let them know how to prevent these levels from becoming higher, and to inform people about the negative effects of energy produced by coal-fired power plants.
More information about SACE’s coal campaign can be found at the organization’s website, http://www.cleanenergy.org.
The Southern Alliance for Clean Energy provides this outreach event on behalf of the coal campaign through a partnership with the Quad Js Hair Salon, the Newton County NAACP, and the Newton County SCLC. # # # If you’d like more information contact Eriqah Foreman Williams at 678.973.8506 or at eriqah@cleanenergy.org.