So, Let’s Take This To The Logical Conclusion

Since I've mentioned Baron Samedi a couple of times in the past few days, this item caught my eye. The US Environmental Protection Agency has just completed a study of the ritualistic use of Mercury in some dwellings where Latino and Caribbean people have been living. It seems that the Mercury Poisoning Project in 2005 had identified the problem. The conclusions the staff reached are somewhat disquieting.

Mercury can be worn in amulets, sprinkled on the floor, or added to an oil lamp as part of some Latino and Afro-Caribbean practices including Santeria, Palo, Voodoo, and Espiritismo, according to the EPA's inspector general.

Some practitioners believe that the mercury, which forms tiny droplets in liquid form, can attract love, luck or riches, and even ward off evil, the report said.

But mercury's toxic effects are pronounced in the nervous systems and brains of exposed children, and can damage organs and cause seizures in adults.

"Mercury vapors resulting from ritual uses can pose a health risk," the EPA said. "Persons involved in such rituals should be aware of these risks."

There could be a legal basis for the EPA to regulate mercury use, but "starting the process to establish such regulations would drive the practice underground," EPA staff said.

Staff also warned that "restricting the use of mercury might be challenged as a violation of the First Amendment" to the U.S. Constitution, which guarantees U.S. religious freedoms, among other things.

Here's the problem as I see it. Some practitioners of these religions are exposing themselves to danger. Ok, that's their choice. The problem is that the next occupant of the house may be exposed to the contamination and that is not their choice at all. Now the EPA is working out proposed regulations to limit mercury emissions from coal-fired power plants. Which I actually think could be a good thing, so long as the standards adopted are reasonable - and attainable. But let's take this to a logical, if somewhat facetious, conclusion. What's to stop the utilities from declaring themselves a religion and the coal plants as cathedrals? Presto! Out from under the regulations on religious grounds.

The EPA should not be concerned with the possibility that there may be a first amendment issue. I suspect that there actually isn't one here. This is forcing exposure onto unsuspecting people and I rather doubt the US Supreme Court would look upon that in a benign fashion. Propose some realistic rules, please.