Community | March 18, 2010 | 18 comments

Most power plants still spewing toxic mercury, report says

source: http://www.mcclatchydc.com/2010/03/17/90576/report-mercury-pollution-from.html

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WakeUpPeople
Many of America's coal-fired power plants lack widely available pollution controls for the highly toxic metal mercury, and mercury emissions recently increased at more than half of the country's 50 largest mercury-emitting power plants, according to a report Wednesday.

The nonpartisan Environmental Integrity Project reported that five of the 10 plants with the highest amount of mercury emitted are in Texas. Plants in Georgia, Missouri, Alabama, Pennsylvania and Michigan also are in the top 10.

The report, which used the most recent data available from the Environmental Protection Agency, found that mercury emissions increased at 27 of the top 50 plants from 2007 to 2008. Overall, power plant emissions of mercury decreased 4.7 percent in that timeframe, but that amount was far less than what would be possible with available emissions controls, the report said.

Coal-fired power plants are the largest source of mercury pollution, generating more than 40 percent of U.S. emissions. Mercury released into the air settles in rivers and lakes, where it moves through the food chain to the fish that people eat.

Mercury exposure can harm the brain development of infants and children. Each year more than 300,000 babies may have an increased risk of learning disabilities as a result of exposure to mercury before birth, the report said.

more at link....
  1. groups:
    Community,   Green,   Progressive America,   Humanism,   2 more
  2. tags:
    Pollution,  Coal,  Mercury
  3. recommended by:
    WakeUpPeople
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18 comments // Most power plants still spewing toxic mercury, report says

  • belowthesurface
  • Wetdog
    • +1
      Wetdog  

    • The only thing that coal is used for is to boil water. We can boil water just fine with natural gas. All we have to do is pull the grates out of the coal furnaces and replace them with gas burners----like on a kitchen stove, only bigger. Nothing else needs to change. Buildings, boilers, turbines, generators, controls, grid wiring......everything else remains the same.

      It is not like it is some highly mysterious thing no one has ever tried before. We generate about 25% of our power from natural gas already.

    • 1 year ago
  • sk8bs55
    • 0
      sk8bs55  

    • is it any surprise that texas should be the most toxic? mercury and heavy metals are bad for babies. it causes brain damage. i'm not sure if the two are mutually exclusive but, wasn't bush born in texas?

    • 1 year ago
  • artemis6
  • trut
    • 0
      trut  

    • I hope these power plants are right next to Alex Jones' compound, he says they are safe so his children shouldn't be effected.

    • 1 year ago
  • CaptB
    • 0
      CaptB  

    • Reminds me of Picken's Plan, a Texas that is trying to bring wind power and natural gas to replace our dependence on foreign oil. I don't know if anyone has heard about it though outside of Texas?

    • 1 year ago
  • Still_Falling
    • +2
      Still_Falling  

    • Now this explains why most Texans are ass backwards.
      " We do stuff different down here in Texas " .. no shit.

      Well this is where Bush calls home, go figure.
      Here I were thinking all the years I heard Bush fuck up the word - " nuclear " - he was just retarded.
      But at last the truth comes out, not only was he retarded, he was also suffering from Mercury poisoning.

      That is why he was talking all that crazy shit, about how he spoke to God and God told him to invade Iraq .....

    • 1 year ago
  • itoldyouso
  • JanforGore
    • +1
      JanforGore  

    • As usual, Texas is the dark stain on America. Obsessed with rewriting school books, yet doesn't give a damn about the health of their children. What a disgrace.

    • 1 year ago
  • dariusvons
    • +1
      dariusvons  

    • and to think is any persons dump out anything like this they'd be imprisoned by the state... companies have no accountability. the company owners (all of them) should be personally held responsible for this.

    • 1 year ago
  • captainplanet71
    • +1
      captainplanet71  

    • I'm actually working on a campaign related to this issue right now. Toxics like mercury being emitted from more than just coal-fired plants.

      The chemical industry's own reports to the EPA reveal that more than 1 in 3 Americans live in "vulnerability" zones near just 300 chemical plants. In 2008 Greenpeace identified 169 lobbyists registered to keep Congress from enacting a strong chemical security law.

      We really need to get these issues into the public eye -- especially right now when chemical security legislation is coming up in the Senate.

      I started a petition to tell Congress to pass comprehensive chemical security legislation that people can sign here:

      http://www.change.org/greenpeacefund/actions/view/demand_that_senators_pass_chem...

      It's a start! We have to regulate the existing plants and push for a clean energy future.

    • 1 year ago
  • CaptB
  • Crenshaw_Brothers
  • cerealforeal
  • Crenshaw_Brothers
  • WakeUpPeople
  • Bldng4Jstc
    • 0
      Bldng4Jstc  
    • WakeUpPeople:

      When either:
      a) a solar or wind farm produces anywhere near the same magnitude of energy as a coal power plant.

      b) industry stops making stuff that runs on electricity, stores are only open during the day, we stop using air conditioning, and people start growing their own food and start canning again.

      c) When the cost of what coal is left is too high for most people to afford electricity.

      I vote C

    • 1 year ago
  • WakeUpPeople
    • +3
      WakeUpPeople  
    • Bldng4Jstc:

      If we employ all of the clean energy technologies, we can make a huge dent, if not completely replace the need for coal depending on location. Wind farms are compatible with crops and grazing. I say we put these up all across the country and have the clean energy company lease the land and give some money to farmers while they continue to farm their land. Extra money, for zero work. Any cities near water can use hydroelectricity or offshore wind farms. Any cities with lots of sun can use solar. Any areas that lack other resources could employ geothermal. Use any combination or all. Whatever it takes.

      - And did I mention jobs, jobs, jobs...

    • 1 year ago
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