AIR POLLUTION: Cement industry lobbies OMB against tighter mercury, HCI rules
Daniel Cusick, E&ENews PM reporter, Dec. 1, 2006
Industry representatives asked the Bush administration yesterday to forego tighter restrictions on mercury and hydrogen chloride (HCI) emissions from cement kilns, saying new regulation was not needed.
Portland Cement Association and Ash Grove Cement Co. told officials with U.S. EPA and the White House Office of Management and Budget that HCI emissions from nearly all U.S. cement kilns "fall well below any threshold of concern for both human and environmental receptors," according to documents filed with OMB.
On mercury, industry reps reiterated their support for an earlier EPA finding that neither a "maximum achievable control technology" (MACT) standard nor a "below the floor" standard is warranted to address emissions from 115 U.S. portland cement factories.
EPA enforces tougher standards for cement kilns that burn hazardous wastes, but facilities that burn primarily coal and gas have not been subject yet to tougher rules for mercury, HCI or other potentially dangerous organic compounds. EPA is under court order to issue a new rule on portland cement facilities by Dec. 8.
Mercury has been of particular concern to regulators and public health officials because it accumulates in certain species of fish and shellfish. Humans who eat mercury-tainted fish are at greater risk of developing neurological problems, and women and children are especially cautioned against eating certain species.
EPA has estimated that portland cement facilities emit roughly 5 tons of mercury per year and as much as 15,000 tons of HCI annually. But such emissions were virtually unregulated until Earthjustice and the Sierra Club filed a 2004 lawsuit forcing the agency to draft more specific regulations.
Last December, EPA proposed a rule calling for no additional mercury reductions from cement plants, saying such action was "not justified." The agency also proposed implementing a risk-based emission standard for HCI, whereby facilities that demonstrated a low risk of adverse effects from HCI could be exempted from tougher standards.
'A more difficult nut to crack'
Yesterday's OMB meeting was criticized by environmental advocates who said it was part of a campaign by cement makers to secure final approval of a weak rule. "It's deplorable that the cement industry would spend its resources lobbying the White House rather than cleaning up the toxic mess it makes," Frank O'Donnell, director of the nonprofit group Clean Air Watch, said in an e-mail.
But Andrew O'Hare, vice president for regulatory affairs at the Portland Cement Association, said the meeting was to update regulators on what steps the industry had taken to address outstanding concerns. He described mercury as "a more difficult nut to crack for our industry because it's so tied to our raw materials."
Most of the mercury emitted from cement kilns comes from limestone, the primary raw material in cement. Limestone contains varying amounts of mercury depending upon its geologic origin, according to EPA's analysis. A secondary source of cement plant mercury is coal, which is burned to achieve high temperatures for converting calcium and silicate oxides into calcium silicate. Finally, mercury can be present in fly ash, an alternative cement-making material that kiln operators acquire from coal-fired power plants.
As with mercury, environmental groups have said the HCI proposal does not go far enough, and some groups have alleged that the risk-based standard, as proposed by EPA, is illegal.
In comments to EPA, the National Association of Clean Air Agencies argued that the agency must first establish a MACT standard for HCI, after which it can address "residual risk" from such emissions. On mercury, NACAA said a final mercury rule for portland cement facilities should require the best available mercury control equipment, including wet and dry scrubbers, sorbent injection technologies and removal of mercury from boiler fly ash.
The cement industry officials yesterday expressed opposition to an industry-wide application of wet scrubbers because, they said, "the technology has not been demonstrated on cement plants for the purposes of controlling mercury emissions."
Industry reps also said there was "insufficient data to establish a specific mercury emission limit for new or greenfield cement kilns," noting that mercury content was strongly associated with the type of raw materials used, and that most plants must rely on local sources of limestone, sand, shale and other raw materials.
The industry does support language that would prohibit use of fly ash from power plant boilers that capture mercury using activated carbon because "it will result in an increase of mercury input into the process."
Industry representatives asked the Bush administration yesterday to forego tighter restrictions on mercury and hydrogen chloride (HCI) emissions from cement kilns, saying new regulation was not needed.
Portland Cement Association and Ash Grove Cement Co. told officials with U.S. EPA and the White House Office of Management and Budget that HCI emissions from nearly all U.S. cement kilns "fall well below any threshold of concern for both human and environmental receptors," according to documents filed with OMB.
On mercury, industry reps reiterated their support for an earlier EPA finding that neither a "maximum achievable control technology" (MACT) standard nor a "below the floor" standard is warranted to address emissions from 115 U.S. portland cement factories.
EPA enforces tougher standards for cement kilns that burn hazardous wastes, but facilities that burn primarily coal and gas have not been subject yet to tougher rules for mercury, HCI or other potentially dangerous organic compounds. EPA is under court order to issue a new rule on portland cement facilities by Dec. 8.
Mercury has been of particular concern to regulators and public health officials because it accumulates in certain species of fish and shellfish. Humans who eat mercury-tainted fish are at greater risk of developing neurological problems, and women and children are especially cautioned against eating certain species.
EPA has estimated that portland cement facilities emit roughly 5 tons of mercury per year and as much as 15,000 tons of HCI annually. But such emissions were virtually unregulated until Earthjustice and the Sierra Club filed a 2004 lawsuit forcing the agency to draft more specific regulations.
Last December, EPA proposed a rule calling for no additional mercury reductions from cement plants, saying such action was "not justified." The agency also proposed implementing a risk-based emission standard for HCI, whereby facilities that demonstrated a low risk of adverse effects from HCI could be exempted from tougher standards.
'A more difficult nut to crack'
Yesterday's OMB meeting was criticized by environmental advocates who said it was part of a campaign by cement makers to secure final approval of a weak rule. "It's deplorable that the cement industry would spend its resources lobbying the White House rather than cleaning up the toxic mess it makes," Frank O'Donnell, director of the nonprofit group Clean Air Watch, said in an e-mail.
But Andrew O'Hare, vice president for regulatory affairs at the Portland Cement Association, said the meeting was to update regulators on what steps the industry had taken to address outstanding concerns. He described mercury as "a more difficult nut to crack for our industry because it's so tied to our raw materials."
Most of the mercury emitted from cement kilns comes from limestone, the primary raw material in cement. Limestone contains varying amounts of mercury depending upon its geologic origin, according to EPA's analysis. A secondary source of cement plant mercury is coal, which is burned to achieve high temperatures for converting calcium and silicate oxides into calcium silicate. Finally, mercury can be present in fly ash, an alternative cement-making material that kiln operators acquire from coal-fired power plants.
As with mercury, environmental groups have said the HCI proposal does not go far enough, and some groups have alleged that the risk-based standard, as proposed by EPA, is illegal.
In comments to EPA, the National Association of Clean Air Agencies argued that the agency must first establish a MACT standard for HCI, after which it can address "residual risk" from such emissions. On mercury, NACAA said a final mercury rule for portland cement facilities should require the best available mercury control equipment, including wet and dry scrubbers, sorbent injection technologies and removal of mercury from boiler fly ash.
The cement industry officials yesterday expressed opposition to an industry-wide application of wet scrubbers because, they said, "the technology has not been demonstrated on cement plants for the purposes of controlling mercury emissions."
Industry reps also said there was "insufficient data to establish a specific mercury emission limit for new or greenfield cement kilns," noting that mercury content was strongly associated with the type of raw materials used, and that most plants must rely on local sources of limestone, sand, shale and other raw materials.
The industry does support language that would prohibit use of fly ash from power plant boilers that capture mercury using activated carbon because "it will result in an increase of mercury input into the process."
posted by Downwinders At Risk at
12:30 AM
1 Comments:
Nice post. I have been actively following mercury emission issues and will refer my readers to your timely information.
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