<Date>
<Address>
Dear <Add congressperson or senator’s name here>,
I am a U.S. citizen, living in New England, who is very concerned about mercury contamination occurring at high levels in New England’s air and waterways as a direct result of high amounts of pollution from coal burning power plants.
A report, completed by a coalition of environmental organizations in1999, researched and found out that 400 coal burning power plants in 43 states are emitting an estimated 98,000 pounds of mercury into the air each year (The Environmental News Network Study. 2001).  In 1999 alone Coal burning power plants released over 100,000 pounds of mercury into the environment.  35,000 pounds, out of the total 100,000, were deposited into New England (Brown 2001).
Mercury is a poison released by mines, metal processed and acid rain from industrial sites and coal burning power plants. Health problems associated with mercury are bone deformity, insanity, coordination problems, central nervous system malfunction, sanity problems, and liver damage. (Mollison, 1998) The heavy metal mercury bioaccumulates into fish, loons, and wildlife.  When humans consume fish, they are often consuming the mercury from those fish from mercury-contaminated waters, mainly from coal burning power plants. According to the National Academy of Sciences an estimate that 60,000 U.S. children are born each year with a risk of nervous system damage from getting exposed to mercury in the womb. (The Environmental News Network Study. 2001) 
The amounts of mercury being let out into the air and water can hopefully be lowered with your help. Please do what you can to put pressure on coal burning power plants to lower mercury emissions by taking steps such as implementing mercury emission control systems in order to reduce the amounts of mercury from being emitted from their smoke stacks.  Please do what you can to support and pass environmental legislation to step up protections that will reduce mercury pollutants from coal burning power plants.  
Sincerely, 

< Sign your name >
<Type your name>