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New Proposals to Control Mercury Contamination

Posted on: Thursday, 5 January 2006, 06:00 CST

By Anonymous

The need to better control mercury pollution from contaminating air and water is leading to stronger alternative measures to eliminate emissions. Involved in developing alternatives are such groups as the State and Territorial Air Pollution Program Administrators and the Association of Local Air Pollution Control Officials. Coal-fired power plants in the U.S. are estimated to emit approximately 48 tons of mercury annually; 45 states have issued fish advisories, warning residents about mercury contamination in their waters. Last March, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced the first federal rules to control mercury from power plants. Until that time, notes a report in The New York Times, plants had been exempt from federal standards for sources of toxic emissions. Rules require a 21 percent reduction in mercury emissions within five years and a reduction of 70 percent by 2018. One alternative plan is set to achieve reductions of at least 80 percent by 2008. "Almost everybody agrees that the federal mercury control program is severely flawed," declares Bill Becker, executive director of the two groups, who refers to the alternatives as technologically feasible and cost-effective compared to the EPA plan. In one of the proposed options, power plants would be required to achieve reductions up to 80 percent by 2008 and up to 95 percent by 2012; the second option would require up to 95 percent reductions by 2008. Our goal is to "help states find a middle ground that achieves more aggressive emission reductions," sums up Becker.

Copyright J.G. Press Inc. Dec 2005

Source: BioCycle

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