Re: Mercury: a reality check

["D&SW" <d&sw@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

Ye gads I get tired of this constant "The sky is falling" crap.

"Dave Houston" <nobody@xxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:46708b2d.62016312@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
> From the EPA at...
>
> http://www.epa.gov/oar/mercuryrule/basic.htmhttp://www.epa.gov/oar/mercuryrule/basic.htm
>
> "Mercury emitted from coal-fired power plants comes from mercury in coal,
> which is released when the coal is burned. While coal-fired power plants
> are
> the largest remaining source of human-generated mercury emissions in the
> United States, they contribute very little to the global mercury pool.
> Recent estimates of annual total global mercury emissions from all sources
> -- both natural and human-generated -- range from roughly 4,400 to 7,500
> tons per year. Human-caused U.S. mercury emissions are estimated to
> account
> for roughly 3 percent of the global total, and U.S. coal-fired power
> plants
> are estimated to account for only about 1 percent."
>
> BTW, existing law calls for a 70% reduction in mercury emissions from US
> power plants over the next few years which means that mercury emissions
> from
> US coal-fired power plants will be about 0.03% of the total.