Download or read book Fate and Aqueous Transport of Mercury in Light of the Clean Air Mercury Rule of Coal fired Electric Power Plants written by Anry Arzuman and published by . This book was released on 2006 with total page 442 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Mercury is a hazardous air pollutant emitted to the atmosphere in large amounts. Mercury emissions from electric power generation sources were estimated to be 48 metric tons/year, constituting the single largest anthropogenic source of mercury in the U.S. Settled mercury species are highly toxic contaminants of the environment. The newly issued Federal Clean Air Mercury Rule requires that the electric power plants firing coal meet the new Maximum Achievable Mercury Control Technology limit by 2018. This signifies that all of the air-phase mercury will be concentrated in solid phase which, based on the current state of the Air Pollution Control Technology, will be fly ash. Fly ash is utilized by different industries including construction industry in concrete, its products, road bases, structural fills, monifills, for solidification, stabilization, etc. Since the increase in coal combustion in the U.S. (1.6 percent/year) is much higher than fly ash demand, large amounts of fly ash containing mercury and other trace elements are expected to accumulate in the next decades. The amount of mercury transferred from one phase to another is not a linear function of coal combustion or ash production, depends on the future states of technology, and is unknown. The amount of aqueous mercury as a function of the future removal, mercury speciation, and coal and aquifer characteristics is also unknown. This paper makes a first attempt to relate mercury concentrations in coal, flue gas, fly ash and fly ash leachate using a single algorithm. Mercury concentrations in all phases were examined and phase transformation algorithms were derived in a form suitable for probabilistic analyses. Such important parameters used in the transformation algorithms as Soil Cation Exchange Capacity for mercury, soil mercury selectivity sequence, mercury activity coefficient, mercury retardation factor, mercury species soil absorption ratio, and mercury Freundlich soil absorption isotherm coefficients were derived. Mercury air-phase removal efficiency was studied as a function of dominant mercury species vapor pressures, the amount of chlorine, sorbent injection rate and absorption capacities, and process temperature and modifications. A mercury air phase removal algorithm was derived which defines the future removal efficiencies as a function of activated carbon injection rate. Mercury absorption on soil was studied as a function of Mercury Mass Law incorporating the dominant aquatic mercury species, pH, chlorine and sulfur concentrations, and the amount of complexed hydroxyl groups. Aquatic mercury longitudinal plume delineation was studied using the Domenico and Robbins function. A Monte Carlo simulation was performed using random number series (5000) for all of the variables in the Domenico and Robbins and mercury retardation functions. The probability that the Maximum Contaminant Level for mercury will be exceeded was found to be equal approximately 1 percent of all soil-related fly ash applications.
Download or read book The State of Mercury Regulation Science and Technology written by United States. Congress. Senate. Committee on Environment and Public Works. Subcommittee on Clean Air and Nuclear Safety and published by . This book was released on 2011 with total page 312 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Regulating Mercury Emissions from Power Plants Will It Protect Our Health written by and published by Am Cncl on Science, Health. This book was released on 2005 with total page 18 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Mercury Emissions from Electric Power Plants written by James E. McCarthy (Specialist in environmental policy) and published by . This book was released on 2005 with total page 20 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: EPA studies conclude that at least 7.8% of American women have blood mercury levels sufficient to increase the risk of adverse health effects (especially lower IQs) in children they might bear. Thus, there was great interest in the agencys March 15, 2005, announcement that it was finalizing new regulations to control mercury (Hg) emissions from coal-fired electric power plants -- power plants account for 42% of total U.S. mercury emissions, according to EPA. In announcing the regulations, however, EPA stated that most mercury in the atmosphere comes from non-U.S. global sources. Thus, even if regulations could reduce power plant mercury emissions to zero, the agency concluded, there would be little change in the mercury health effects it has identified. Instead of more stringent requirements, EPA promulgated "cap-and-trade" standards that rely heavily on cobenefits from sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide controls installed under a separate agency rule, the Clean Air Interstate Rule (CAIR). This approach minimizes costs for electric utilities: by 2015, less than 1% of coal-fired power plants will have installed equipment specifically designed to control mercury, according to EPA. By 2020, only 4% of plants will have such equipment. Ten states have filed suit to overturn the agency s action, arguing that EPA is required by the Clean Air Act to impose more stringent Maximum Achievable Control Technology standards at each individual plant. Beginning in 2010, the cap-and-trade standards limit total power plant mercury emissions to 38 tons annually (a 21% reduction vs. 1999 levels). A second phase caps annual emissions at 15 tons, starting in 2018. According to the agency, trading and banking of emission allowances will result in lower than required emissions in the early years, but will delay achievement of the 15-ton cap to at least 2025. Thus, the net effect of the rule appears to be to postpone until the 2020s direct regulation of mercury (except as a co-benefit achieved from regulating other pollutants). EPA has sent contradictory signals regarding the importance of controlling mercury emissions. Its January 2004 analysis of the proposed rule estimated that the indirect benefits of more stringent regulations ($15 billion annually) would outweigh compliance costs by a factor of at least 16 to 1. Direct benefits (although unquantifiable) were said to be "large enough to justify substantial investment in Hg control." The analysis of the final rule, by contrast, concludes that quantifiable direct and indirect benefits of mercury control are just $43 million per year, with annual costs as high as $896 million. EPA s calculations did not include consideration of an academic study that it had funded, a factor contributing to the calculation of smaller benefits. This decision was one of several irregularities in the regulatory process alleged by the agency's Inspector General, GAO, and critics of the rule. In addition to EPAs regulatory effort, five bills that would regulate these emissions have been introduced so far in the 109th Congress, with more expected. S. 131, the Clear Skies Act, has many points in common with the EPA regulatory approach. This report will be updated.
Download or read book The Impact of Federal Clean Air Rules on Mercury Emissions at U S Coal fired Power Plants written by Mary Jo Krolewski and published by . This book was released on 2006 with total page 81 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Mercury emissions written by United States. Congress. House. Committee on Science. Subcommittee on Environment, Technology, and Standards and published by . This book was released on 2004 with total page 108 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Mercury Emission and its Control in Chinese Coal Fired Power Plants written by Jinsong Zhou and published by Springer. This book was released on 2015-01-13 with total page 159 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "Mercury Emission and its Control in Chinese Coal-Fired Power Plants" focuses on investigating mercury emissions samplings and measurement in Chinese coal-fired power plants, mercury emission estimations and future trends, mercury speciation transformation during coal combustion, mercury control and mercury stability in byproducts. The book not only introduces mercury emissions from actual coal-fired power plants, but also presents studies on the mechanism of mercury emission and its control. This is a valuable reference for engineering thermal physicists, thermal engineers, and chemical engineers. Jinsong Zhou, Zhongyang Luo, and Mengxiang Fang are Professors in the College of Mechanical and Energy Engineering, Zhejiang University, China. Yanqun Zhu is Associate Professor in the College of Mechanical and Energy Engineering, Zhejiang University, China.
Download or read book LOCAL IMPACTS OF MERCURY EMISSIONS FROM THE MONTICELLO COAL FIRED POWER PLANT written by J. WILLIAMS and published by . This book was released on 2006 with total page 26 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Clean Air Interstate Rule (CAIR) and the Clean Air Mercury Rule (CAMR) as currently proposed by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) when fully implemented will lead to reduction in mercury emissions from coal-fired power plants by 70 percent to fifteen tons per year by 2018. The EPA estimates that mercury deposition would be reduced 8 percent on average in the Eastern United States. The CAMR permits cap-and-trade approach that requires the nationwide emissions to meet the prescribed level, but do not require controls on each individual power plant. This has led to concerns that there may be hot-spots of mercury contamination near power plants. Partially because of this concern, many states including Pennsylvania have implemented, or are considering, state regulations that are stricter on mercury emissions than those in the CAMR. This study examined the possibility that coal-fired power plants act as local sources leading to mercury ''hot spots'', using two types of evidence. First, the world-wide literature was searched for reports of deposition around mercury sources, including coal-fired power plants. Second, soil samples from around two mid-sized U.S. coal-fired power plants were collected and analyzed for evidence of ''hot spots'' and for correlation with model predictions of deposition. The following summarizes our findings from published reports on the impacts of local deposition. In terms of excesses over background the following increments have been observed within a few km of the plant: (A) local soil concentration Hg increments of 30%-60%, (B) sediment increments of 18-30%, (C) wet deposition increments of 11-12%, and (D) fish Hg increments of about 5-6%, based on an empirical finding that fish concentrations are proportional to the square root of deposition. Important uncertainties include possible reductions of RGM to Hg(0) in power plant plumes and the role of water chemistry in the relationship between Hg deposition and fish content. Soil and vegetation sampling programs were performed around the Monticello coal fired power plant. The objectives were to determine if local mercury hot spots exist, to determine if they could be attributed to deposition of coal-fired power plant emissions, and to determine if they correlated with model predictions. The study found the following: (1) There was no correlation between modeled mercury deposition and either soil concentrations or vegetation concentrations. At the Monticello plant, excess soil Hg was associated with soil characteristics with higher values near the lake. Vegetation concentration showed some correlation with soil concentrations having higher mercury in vegetation when the soil mercury. (2) Based on computer modeling, Hg deposition was primarily RGM with much lower deposition from elemental mercury. The total deposition within 50 Km of the plant was predicted to be 4.2% of the total emitted. In the deposition, RGM is responsible for 98.7% of the total deposition, elemental mercury accounts for 1.1% and particulate mercury accounts for 0.2%. Less than 1% of the elemental mercury emitted was predicted to deposit within 50 km.
Download or read book Mercury Emissions from Coal fired Power Plants written by Paul Franklin Tirey and published by . This book was released on 2008 with total page 268 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This dissertation tests whether or not mercury emissions from electric power plants are not a significant contributor to mercury measurements in rainfall and argues that the current United States (U.S.) Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) proposed regulatory scheme for controlling mercury from electric power plants, the Clean Air Mercury Rule (CAMR), is an effective regulatory mechanism by using a number of ordinary least square (OLS) and spatial regression models. Two dependent variables are tested, mercury concentration (the average mercury concentration measured in rainfall in nanograms per liter, ng/L) and mercury deposition (the total annual mercury falling at each measurement site in nanograms per square meter, ng/m 2 ), with mercury concentration determined to be the more valid dependent variable. The source for the mercury concentration and deposition data is the Mercury Deposition Network (MDN), part of the National Atmospheric Deposition Program (NADP), with the data obtained for between 46 and 75 sites operating from 2001 through 2005. Independent variables include: (1) emissions to the air from power plants, (2) emissions to the air from other industrial sites, (3) emissions to the land from the mining industry, (4) population as a proxy variable for vehicle emissions, (5) burned area from wildfires, (6) precipitation and (7) dummy variables for year and EPA region. Data for independent variables 1, 2, and 3 were obtained from the EPA's Toxic Release Inventory (TRI) program. Population for each county in the U.S. was obtained from the Census Bureau, and wildfire data was obtained from the U.S. Department of Agriculture satellite based fire mapping system, Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS). Microsoft Access was utilized to summarize and total the independent variables within a variable radius of the MDN measurement sites, ranging from 25 to 500 miles. The software tool GeoDa 0.95i, made available by the University of Illinois, was used to perform the OLS, spatial lag, and spatial error regressions. After changing the functional form of the equation to a log-linear model (using the natural log form of the dependent variable and the linear forms of the independent variables) to deal with heteroskedasticity, the results indicate a strong spatial component to the model. Other than precipitation, the most significant predictor of mercury concentration is fire area burned between 50 and 75 miles of the MDN measurement site (z = 3.08, p
Download or read book Control of Mercury Emissions from Coal fired Electric Power Plants written by Barry Jackson Goehler and published by . This book was released on 2002 with total page 144 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book An Assessment of Mercury Emissions and Health Risks from a Coal fired Power Plant written by and published by . This book was released on 1994 with total page 29 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Title 3 of the 1990 Clean Air Act Amendments (CAAA) mandated that the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) evaluate the need to regulate mercury emissions from electric utilities. In support of this forthcoming regulatory analysis the U.S. DOE, sponsored a risk assessment project at Brookhaven (BNL) to evaluate methylmercury (MeHg) hazards independently. In the US MeHg is the predominant way of exposure to mercury originated in the atmosphere. In the BNL study, health risks to adults resulting from Hg emissions from a hypothetical 1,000 MW coal-fired power plant were estimated using probabilistic risk assessment techniques. This study showed that the effects of emissions of a single power plant may double the background exposures to MeHg resulting from consuming fish obtained from a localized area near the power plant. Even at these more elevated exposure levels, the attributable incidence in mild neurological symptoms was estimated to be quite small, especially when compared with the estimated background incidence in the population. The current paper summarizes the basic conclusions of this assessment and highlights issues dealing with emissions control and environmental transport.
Download or read book Mercury Risk and Justice written by Catherine O'Neill and published by . This book was released on 2009 with total page 46 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In December 2003, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) unveiled its long-awaited proposal for regulating mercury emissions from coal-fired utilities, which it later dubbed the quot;Clean Air Mercury Rule.quot; Methylmercury is a potent neurotoxin, leading to irreversible neurological damage; humans are exposed primarily through consuming contaminated fish. The EPA rule relies on a creative interpretation of the Clean Air Act to enlist a cap-and-trade approach for mercury emissions from these sources. The rule sets forth a cap in two phases, ultimately targeting a 70% reduction in mercury emissions by 2018. EPA's rule, however, raises a host of environmental justice issues. First, emissions reductions are more modest and significantly delayed when compared to reductions expected under section 112 of the Clean Air Act. Second, the cap-and-trade approach raises the specter of quot;hot spotsquot; - local or regional instances of relatively high emissions and, ultimately, exposure - as a result of emissions trading. Third, the EPA's proposal relies heavily on risk avoidance in the form of fish consumption advisories, which ask people to reduce or eliminate fish from their diets in order to avoid exposure to methylmercury. Each of these three features of the rule disproportionately burdens fishing tribes and their members, as well as some communities of color and low-income communities that depend on fish. This article discusses these environmental justice issues, highlighting the particular case of the Ojibwe and other fishing peoples in the Great Lakes.
Download or read book Mercury Emissions from Coal fired Power Plants written by Northeast States for Coordinated Air Use Management and published by . This book was released on 2003 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Mercury Emissions from Coal fired Power Plant b an Evaluation of Reduction Strategies Using the Analytic Hierarchy Process written by Julie C. Metty and published by . This book was released on 2001 with total page 388 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Mercury Emissions to the Air written by and published by . This book was released on 2004 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: On December 15, 2003, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) proposed standards for emissions of mercury from coal-fired electric power plants, under the authority of Sections 111 and 112 of the Clean Air Act. (The proposal appeared in the Federal Register January 30, 2004.) In their first phase, the standards could require a 29% reduction in emissions by 2008 or 2010, depending on the regulatory option chosen. A nearly 70% reduction would take effect in 2018, although EPA indicates that flexibility built into the proposed standards could delay the full 70% reduction to as late as 2030. EPA's analysis of the proposed rule indicates that its benefits would outweigh the compliance costs by a factor of at least 16 to 1, leading many critics of the proposal to ask why the regulations should not be more stringent, or implemented more quickly. The Agency's official position is that technology will not be available to achieve reductions greater than 30% until after 2010. EPA's own Office of Research and Development (ORD) appears to disagree, however. A recent ORD white paper found that reductions of 72% - 98%, depending on coal type, are already being achieved at some plants using current technology. Other issues likely to be raised in the public comment period, which extends until June 29, include the impacts on eastern coal production and the effect of the proposals on mercury "hot spots." In addition to EPA's regulatory effort, in the current Congress nine bills have been introduced to regulate these emissions. An Administration bill, the "Clear Skies Act," has many points in common with the EPA regulatory proposal. The other bills before Congress are generally more stringent than the Administration's approach. These regulatory and legislative proposals reflect increasing concern over the potential health effects of mercury emissions. Mercury is a potent neurotoxin that can affect human health at very low concentrations. EPA considers children born to women with umbilical cord blood-mercury concentrations above 5.8 parts per billion to be at increased risk for adverse health effects, such as delayed development, neurological defects, and mental retardation. Recent EPA studies conclude that at least 7.8% (and possibly as many as 15.7%) of American women of child-bearing age have blood mercury levels above this threshold. U.S. air emissions of mercury come from eight principal sources. Of these, the largest source, and the last major source for which emission standards have been proposed, is coal-fired electric power plants. Coal-fired power plants account for between one-third and one-half of total U.S. mercury emissions. This report provides background on mercury and reviews regulatory and legislative proposals to reduce emissions of mercury to the air. CRS Report RL32203 and CRS Report RL31908 discuss legal issues raised by EPA's proposed rules and mercury in products and waste, respectively. This report will be updated as warranted.
Download or read book The fate of mercury in coal fired power plants and the influence of wet flue gas desulphurisation written by R. Meij and published by . This book was released on 1990 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Final Report on Mercury Emissions from Coal fired Power Plants written by Michigan. Mercury Electric Utility Workgroup and published by . This book was released on 2005 with total page 243 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
