Photo Credit: Kyle Jeffery
Today the Environmental Protection Agency announced they issued Mercury and Air Toxics Standards(MATS) for Power Plants. The Standards cover air emissions of Mercury, Arsenic, Nickel, Selenium, Cyanide and Acid Gases from Power Plants.
The standards will require reductions of air emissions of mercury and air toxics using proven and available pollution controls. In the United States there are approximately 1100 operating coal fired power plants. Of these power plants, 40% are currently not using advanced pollution controls and will be required to upgrade to meet the new standards. The time frame for implementing the new Mercury and Air Toxics Standards is three years for compliance, with a fourth year extension available for technology installations.
Power Plants are the largest remaining source of toxic air pollutants (mercury, arsenic, cyanide) and are responsible for half of the mercury and 75 percent of the acid gas emissions in the United States. Mercury has been shown to harm the nervous systems of children exposed in the womb, impairing thinking, learning and early development.
EPA has estimated that implementing the new Mercury and Air Toxics Standards will prevent:
- 4,700 heart attacks per year
- 6,300 fewer cases of acute bronchitis among children
- 11,000 premature deaths per year
- 130,000 cases of childhood asthma symptoms per year
Louisiana Power Plants likely covered by MATS
| Plant | Location | Fuel | Total Capacity(MW) |
| 1. Big Cajun 1 | Jarreau, LA | Oil | 430 |
| 2. Big Cajun 2 | New Roads, LA | Coal | 1,743 |
| 3. D. G. Hunter | Alexandria, LA | Oil | 125 |
| 4. Dolet Hills | Mansfield, LA | Coal | 650 |
| 5. J. Lamar | Shreveport, LA | Oil | 590 |
| 6. Lieberman | Mooringsport, LA | Oil | 270 |
| 7. Little Gypsy | Laplace, LA | Oil | 1,204 |
| 8. Michoud | New Orleans, LA | Oil | 860 |
| 9. Nelson Industrial | Lake Charles, LA | Coal | 213 |
| 10. Nine Mile Point | Westwego, LA | Oil | 1,804 |
| 11. R. S. Nelson | Westlake, LA | Coal | 1,203 |
| 12. Rodemacher | Lena, LA | Oil/Coal | 1,623 |
| 13. Teche | Baldwin, LA | Oil | 430 |
| 14. Waterford 1 2 | Kilona, LA | Oil | 805 |
Lisa Jackson Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency stated this is a "Banner Year for Clean Air."
The full news release about the new Mercury and Air Toxics Standards can be found at this address: http://yosemite.epa.gov/opa/admpress.nsf/bd4379a92ceceeac8525735900400c27/bd8b3f37edf5716d8525796d005dd086!OpenDocument
