Clean Air News

North Carolina’s Big Polluters Released More Than 3,000 Pounds Of Toxic Mercury in 2003

As the new home of NCPIRG's environmental work, Environment North Carolina can be contacted with any questions regarding this news release. 

RALEIGH—As the U.S. Senate prepares to vote on whether to overturn an EPA rule on power plant mercury emissions, a new North Carolina Public Interest Research Group (NCPIRG) report shows that power plants in the state of North Carolina produce the tenth highest amount of toxic mercury emissions in the nation.

The report—“Made in the U.S.A.”—identifies which states and localities nationwide have the most mercury emissions from power plants and which power plants emit the most mercury. In 2003, power plants in the U.S. emitted more than 90,000 pounds of mercury into the air.

“North Carolinians know that pollution from power plants is serious business,” said NCPIRG Field Organizer Breanna Peterson. “We were one of the first states to address smog and soot pollution from our state’s energy producers, now it is time for us to take steps to ensure that these same facilities are being responsible about their mercury pollution. Scientists have found that just a gram of mercury, about a drop, deposited over the course of a year was enough to contaminate the fish in a large Wisconsin lake.”

Mercury is a potent neurotoxin that can affect the brain, heart, and immune system. Developing fetuses and children are especially at risk; even low-level exposure to mercury can cause learning disabilities, developmental delays, lowered IQ, and problems with attention and memory, and symptoms similar to those found in patients with autism. EPA scientists estimate that one in six women has enough mercury in her body to put her child at risk should she become pregnant. Studies also indicate that mercury exposure is associated with an increased risk of heart attacks in adults.

Power plants are the largest industrial source of U.S. mercury emissions. EPA data show that about one-third of the mercury deposited in the U.S. comes from U.S. power plants alone, and deposition can be much higher near individual plants, since local sources can account for 50-80 percent of mercury deposition at hot spots. Mercury pollution is so pervasive that 45 states have posted mercury-related fish consumption advisories, half of the states for every lake or river. In North Carolina, mercury-related fish consumption advisories cover 100% of our coastal waterways and every waterway south and east of I-85. These advisories warn people to avoid or limit their consumption of certain types of fish

NCPIRG’s “Made in the U.S.A.” uses 2003 data from EPA’s Toxics Release Inventory, the most recent available, to rank power plant mercury emissions by state, county, zip code, facility, and company. Key findings include:

• In North Carolina, power plants emitted 3,038 pounds of mercury in 2003. North Carolina ranked 10th in the country for power plant mercury emissions.

• Person County led the state in power plant mercury emissions, with 937 pounds, more than 30% of the state’s total power plant mercury emissions, in 2003. Only 16 other counties in the entire country suffer from more mercury pollution than Person County.

• Progress Energy’s Roxboro Steam Electric power plant in Person County, was the largest power plant mercury emitter in the state, with 710 pounds, 23% percent of the state’s total power plant mercury emissions, in 2003.

• The most polluting 15 companies in the U.S. emitted more than 48,000 pounds of mercury in 2003, 54% of power plant mercury emissions nationwide. Progress Energy, based in North Carolina, is the 11th top producer of power plant related mercury emissions in the nation. Additionally, both Duke Power and Progress Energy appear on the list of the top 20 mercury emitting energy companies in the nation. Between those two companies and their combined total of 19 power plants, they emitted 3,675 pounds of mercury in 2003 (almost 3,000 pounds of that is from power plants here in North Carolina).

• Implementation of the Clean Smokestacks Act is projected to clean up mercury pollution from North Carolina’s power plants by 60-70% beginning in the year 2012. However, if mercury emissions from our state’s power plants remain unregulated we will watch North Carolina’s power plants dump nearly 18,000 pounds of mercury into our environment before this law takes full effect. After that they will continue to release between 890 and 1200 pounds of mercury each year with no end in sight.

• The rule that Congress is scheduled to review by Monday of next week relies on a bank and trade system. Under this system power plants will be allowed to save pollution “credits” from before the more strict regulations are in place and use them to avoid cleaning up their mercury emissions for years or even decades after the deadline to clean up.

Under the Clean Air Act, sources of hazardous air pollutants, including mercury, are required to install pollution control technology to reduce these toxic emissions by the maximum achievable amount. EPA acknowledged in 2001 that compliance with the law would require reducing power plant mercury emissions by about 90 percent within three years. If this standard is enacted, all of the power plants in North Carolina combined would likely emit just over 300 pounds mercury each year and would come into effect in 2009.

In March 2005, however, the EPA issued regulations that will allow power plants to avoid the Clean Air Act’s maximum achievable control technology (MACT) requirement. One of these rules, the “delisting rule,” removed power plants from the list of sources subject to MACT standards for mercury. This paved the way for a second, industry-favored “cap-and-trade rule” that allows power plants to buy and trade the right to pollute and delays even modest mercury reductions until at least 2018.

“EPA is essentially saying that mercury from power plants isn’t toxic enough to mandate strong regulations,” Peterson said. “That not only defies law and logic, but it even defies the findings of their own health advisory boards. This rule is outrageous.”

At least 16 states have challenged one or both of the rules in court or have petitioned EPA for reconsideration of the delisting rule. Additionally, there are states that have already taken action to comply with the Clean Air Act and will reduce their mercury pollution by 2008. Moreover, in June, Senators Patrick Leahy (D-VT) and Susan Collins (R-ME) introduced a bipartisan joint resolution against the delisting rule pursuant to the Congressional Review Act, a law that enables Congress to disapprove of federal agency rules using special, expedited procedures. Disapproval of a rule voids the rule, meaning it has no effect. A vote is expected in early September, after the Senate returns from its August recess.

“We urge Senators Burr and Dole to take action to protect public health by supporting the Leahy-Collins-Snowe resolution,” Peterson said. “It is long past time for power plants to comply with the law and join other industries in reducing their mercury pollution by 90 percent.”