Re: cement plants and mercury

[Guest guest]

Where's the press release?

>

> The Bush administration has given the cement industry an early

Christmas present. This is a dirty business, and it will stay dirty

under these new EPA rules.

>

> Below is a press release EPA just put out on new toxic pollution

standards from cement plants. The agency actually approved this rule

(under a court order) last Friday, but it took them this long to come

up with some " spin " to try justifying another giveaway to industry.

>

> Immediately below is information on the November 30, 2006 meeting

that the cement industry had with the White House Office of

Management and Budget to make a last-minute plea to avoid tough new

requirements.

>

> As you can tell by comparing the materials to EPA's release,

industry won hands down.

>

> Cement plants will not have to use wet scrubbers to limit toxic

mercury emissions, even though some plants already use them. EPA

also ducked setting standards for toxic hydrogen chloride emissions –

another favor sought by the cement makers.

>

[Guest guest]

It made our newspaper:

http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2006612120404

Published: December 12. 2006 3:00AM

Michigan

EPA limits mercury emissions from plants

December 12, 2006

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BY JOHN FLESHER

ASSOCIATED PRESS

TRAVERSE CITY -- The federal government has set limits on airborne mercury emissions from cement kilns six years after a court order required them, but they don't apply to existing plants.

Once fully in effect, the rules announced Monday will prevent 1,300 to 3,000 pounds of mercury nationwide from escaping into the atmosphere each year, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency said. Mercury can damage the nervous system and cause developmental problems in children.

The nation's 118 cement plants give off 12,000 pounds of mercury, the EPA says. That figure is based largely on company estimates that some state regulators say may be drastically understated.

Tests last year determined that the Lafarge North America plant in Alpena was emitting mercury at a rate that could produce 581 pounds annually, about 10 times more than previously reported. There are also cement plants in Charlevoix and Dundee.

Cement and chlorine plants are the top producers of mercury in the U.S. manufacturing sector, said Marti Sinclair, chairwoman of the Sierra Club's National Air Committee.

The EPA also set new limits on hydrocarbons -- chemical compounds in fossil fuels -- that it said would limit emissions by 1,100 tons while helping to cut sulfur dioxide, another airborne pollutant.

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Copyright © 2006 Detroit Free Press Inc.

> >> > The Bush administration has given the cement industry an early > Christmas present. This is a dirty business, and it will stay dirty > under these new EPA rules. > > > > Below is a press release EPA just put out on new toxic pollution > standards from cement plants. The agency actually approved this rule > (under a court order) last Friday, but it took them this long to come > up with some "spin" to try justifying another giveaway to industry. > > > > Immediately below is information on the November 30, 2006 meeting > that the cement industry had with the White House Office of > Management and Budget to make a last-minute plea to avoid tough new > requirements.> > > > As you can tell by comparing the materials to EPA's release, > industry won hands down. > > > > Cement plants will not have to use wet scrubbers to limit toxic > mercury emissions, even though some plants already use them. EPA > also ducked setting standards for toxic hydrogen chloride emissions – > another favor sought by the cement makers.> >>