Mercury limits will save lives, EPA says

May 01, 2010|Associated Press

WASHINGTON — The Obama administration says 5,000 deaths would be prevented each year under rules revealed yesterday to limit the amount of mercury and other harmful pollutants released by industrial boilers and solid waste incinerators.

The rules would reduce mercury emissions more than 50 percent by requiring steep and costly cuts from companies operating about 200,000 industrial boilers, heaters, and incinerators.

The Environmental Protection Agency, which proposed the rules, must seek public comment before they are made final.

Industrial boilers and heaters are the second-largest source of mercury emissions in the United States, after coal-fired power plants.

The boilers burn coal and other fuels to generate heat or electricity and are used by petroleum refiners, chemical and manufacturing plants, paper mills, and even shopping malls.

The EPA said the new federal limits would save lives and prevent up to 36,000 asthma attacks each year by reducing air pollution.

The estimated cost of installing and operating the required pollution controls totals about $3.6 billion per year, the EPA said.

Some lawmakers representing industrial states have protested placing the added burden on businesses when many are struggling because of the recession.

Senator Robert Casey, a Democrat from Pennsylvania, wrote in letter to the EPA that forcing companies to spend so much “will only result in plant closings and further loss of jobs.’’

The EPA estimated the rules would lead to savings of $18 billion to $44 billion annually.

READER COMMENTS »

View reader comments » Comment on this story »