Estimated mercury emissions from coal power plants

Coal-fired power plants are the largest mercury pollutors. EPA is scheduled to regulate mercury pollution from these plants in 2004. The tables below were developed from data submitted to EPA by power companies.

The pollution amounts listed only include mercury emitted through smokestacks directly into the air. They do not include any other form of combustion waste.

For more information on mercury pollution from power plants read Mercury Falling, a report released by EWG, Natural Resources Defense Counsel, and the Clean Air Network.

Issue Brief on Coal Power Plants

Most Americans think of electricity as “clean” and are shocked to learn that power plants are the single worst industrial contributor of air pollution in the US.  Power plants contribute 76% of the sulfur dioxide emissions (SO2), 59% of nitrogen oxide emissions (NOx), 37% of mercury emissions and 40% of man-made carbon dioxide emissions. (Source: Natural Resources Defense Council) 

When the federal Clean Air Act was enacted over 30 years ago during the Nixon Administration, big utility companies successfully lobbied against stringent controls by saying the oldest, dirtiest power plants would soon be replaced by new state-of-the-art facilities. Many of those out-dated facilities, which were already old in 1970, are still in use. In some cases, power plants from 1922 are still in operation and do not meet the environmental requirements that every new facility must follow. Because of this 1970 loophole in the law, dirty plants have been “grandfathered” from following the air pollution controls required by the Clean Air Act for new power plants.

These old plants “legally” pollute the air at rates of 2 to13 times higher than new plants with modern emissions controls. It is now up to the states to plug this loophole. The State Clean Power Act will eliminate the loophole and cut power plant emissions of the four major pollutants by 2007. Power plants will have a five-year window to reduce emissions of:

• Sulfur dioxide, the chief cause of acid rain, by 75% 
• Nitrogen oxides, the chief cause of ozone smog, by 75% 
• Mercury, which poisons humans and wildlife, by 90%
• Carbon dioxide, the chief cause of global warming, to 1990 levels

These four pollutants are the major cause of some of the most serious environmental problems the nation faces, including acid rain, smog, mercury contamination, and global warming.  According to recent scientific studies, including information provided by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, power plants are responsible for:

• Over 30,000 premature deaths nationally per year, including over 6,000 in the midwest -- more than from auto deaths due to nonuse of seatbelts -- and tens of thousands of lost workdays due to respiratory illness. 
• As  much as one-half of summer smog, which triggers 34,000 emergency room visits, 14,700 hospitalizations, and 1.4 million asthma attacks each year in the midwest. 
• Pervasive summer haze that reduces the upper midwest’s recreational and quality of life values by over $115 million a year.
• Nearly one-third of the mercury that pollutes our waterways.  This is of special concern for women of childbearing age, children and wildlife that consume mercury-contaminated fish.  
• More than one-third of the emissions of carbon dioxide, the chief gas contributing to global warming, that threatens forests and our tourist industry.

Effects of Loophole Power Plants’ Smoke:

Effects of Acid Rain
Acid rain causes acidification of lakes and streams and contributes to the damage of trees at high elevations (for example, red spruce trees above 2,000 feet) and many sensitive forest soils. In addition, acid rain accelerates the decay of building materials and paints, including irreplaceable buildings, statues, and sculptures that are part of our nation’s cultural heritage. Prior to falling to the earth, SO2 and NOx gases and their particulate matter derivatives, sulfates and nitrates, contribute to visibility degradation and harm public health. 

Effects of Climate Change
Rising global temperatures are expected to raise sea level, and change precipitation and other local climate conditions. Changing regional climates could alter forests, crop yields, and water supplies, and harm birds, fish, and many types of ecosystems.  It could also threaten human health due to increased heat waves and the spread of infectious diseases. Storms are likely to become more intense and evaporation will be faster during dry periods, so both floods and droughts would increase. Deserts may expand into existing range lands, and the character of some of our national parks would be permanently altered. 

Effects of Mercury
Mercury is persistent, mobile and bioaccumulative in the environment, meaning it is retained in organisms. Most of the mercury found in the environment is inorganic mercury that can enter the air from several sources. Examples of  sources include emissions of coal-fired power plants, burning municipal and medical waste, and natural processes such as erosion of ores and volcanic activity. Methylmercury is quickly taken up into higher organisms through the food chain and is retained in their bodies. It reaches the highest levels in large predatory fish and in birds and mammals which consume fish. Levels of methylmercury in fish are typically 100,000 times those in the water in which they swim.

Effects of Smog
Both coarse and fine particles found in smog pose health risks because they can penetrate into  the sensitive regions of the respiratory tract. Fine particles are of greatest concern because they are linked to the most serious effects. They can cause persistent coughs, phlegm, wheezing, and physical discomfort. Children, the elderly, and individuals with cardiovascular disease or lung diseases such as emphysema and asthma are especially vulnerable. In addition, smog particles can soil manmade materials, speed their deterioration, and impair visibility.

These issue briefs come from information provided by the State Environmental Resource Center.    SERC mapped out the high road on eliminating dirty coal burning power plants, and we'd like to thank them for their work as environmental trailblazers. 

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