cement plants and mercury

[Guest guest]

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.