U.S. to cut mercury emissions from coal-fired plants

Mercury from coal-fired power plants settles on nearby waterways

December 15, 2000
Web posted at: 3:04 PM EST (2004 GMT)

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -- The Clinton administration announced on Thursday it would require coal-fired power plants to cut their toxic emissions of mercury to protect the unborn children of women who eat large amounts of fish while pregnant.

But the proposed regulations will be written by the incoming administration of Republican George W. Bush, and won't be ready until December 2003, said Carol Browner, head of the Environmental Protection Agency.

"Mercury from power plants settles over waterways, polluting rives and lakes, and contaminating fish," Browner said in a statement. "The greatest source of mercury emissions is power plants, and they have never been required to control these emissions before now."

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Toxic mercury emissions have been blamed for damaging the nervous system of unborn babies when their mothers eat large amounts of fish. The fish are contaminated through polluted waterways near coal-fired power plants.

Environmental groups had urged the EPA to add mercury to a long list of power plant emissions already regulated to keep the air and water clean.

A National Academy of Sciences report earlier this year said U.S. coal-fired utilities emitted about 40 tons of mercury annually. The report found that while the overall risk of mercury poisoning was relatively low in the United States, vulnerable groups -- like pregnant women -- could suffer great harm from contamination.

Industry experts have said there are few options to control mercury emissions and that regulations could cost power plants billions of dollars.

Browner, a Democrat who is expected to leave the EPA next month when Republican President-elect George W. Bush takes power, said proposed regulations would be published by December 2003 and finalized one year later.

The final rules should reduce U.S. mercury emissions by nearly 50 percent from 1990 levels, she said.

Environmental groups praised the announcement, and urged the incoming Bush administration to follow through with strict rules.

"The EPA is taking a critical first step to control mercury emissions from coal-fired power plants," said Andy Buchsbaum, water quality projects manager for the National Wildlife Federation. "It will be up to the next administration to turn EPA's determination into real protections for people and wildlife."

The green group recently issued a study showing that rain falling in Maine, Massachusetts and Illinois contains as much as 73 times the EPA "safe" level of mercury for surface water.

The timetable for issuing proposed rules by December 2003 stems from a court settlement between the EPA and the Natural Resources Defense Council.

Buchsbaum said a number of Republican senators backed strict rules to control mercury emissions, especially those in Northeastern and Midwestern states with coal-fired power plants.

The Clinton administration has urged Congress to develop a broad plan to reduce air pollution from U.S. power plants by cutting mercury, sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides and carbon dioxide.

Copyright 2000 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

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National Academy of Sciences
National Wildlife Federation
Natural Resources Defense Council

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