Mercury lurks in SC waters
The (Charleston, SC) Post and Courier is in the middle of an interesting series on how mercury lurks in waters around the state. Bottom line: It's not healthy and is showing up in fish and people. Coal-fueled power plants aren't helping matters any.
"What's clear is that mercury taints fish in hundreds of miles of the state's rivers and streams. It's so bad in many areas that state health officials warn people to limit the amount of fish they eat, or eat none at all.
"Lonnie Carter, Santee Cooper's president and chief operating officer, said his company and the nation's power industry as a whole are not major contributors to the problem. He cited an EPA report that says the nation's electric power industry releases just 1 percent of the mercury pollution in world. 'A lot of people like to single us out as the problem. The facts don't support that,' Carter said. ...
"Environmental groups say it's a red herring to blame China and other industrial countries for the state's mercury contamination problems. Blan Holman, a lawyer for the Southern Environmental Law Center, said that 'at the end of the day, the Pee Dee plant will be a dirty facility.'"
posted by Andy Brack @ 9:09 AM
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1 Comments:
Chlorine plants have been using mercury in their production for well over 100 years in the United States. Much of this mercury escapes through “fugitive emissions” – and then on top of that, many chlorine plants have unaccounted mercury losses that make their way into the environment. However, unlike coal-fired power plants where mercury emissions can only be reduced, technology exists that can completely eliminate mercury pollution from chlor-alkali production. However, not all plants have committed to stop using the outdated mercury-cell technology to produce their products including one in Augusta, Georgia
Oceana, a conservation group, is pressuring chlorine plants to switch to mercury-free technology. To learn more about this campaign check out the
Oceana website. If companies move to mercury-free technology, it will go a long way into reducing mercury emissions, and consequently, seafood contamination.
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