TOXICOLOGY:
Mercury Report Backs Strict Rules
Jocelyn Kaiser
The debate, finally, seemed to be settled. After an 18-month review, a panel of the National Academy of Sciences last week weighed in on the health risks of mercury, endorsing strict safety levels proposed by the Environmental Protection Agency in 1995. But already some scientists are contesting the panel's conclusions, and federal agencies are grappling with how to reconcile competing regulations.