Mercury Emissions in Utah

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Mercury Emissions in Utah

• Cheryl Heying

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Duck Advisories
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Anthropogenic Air Emission Sources of Hg in Utah

• Coal Fired Power Plants (coal)
• Cement Lime Plants (coal, ore)
• Incinerators (batteries, fluorescent lamps,
  thermometers, electronics)
• Electric Arc Furnace (Hg in scrap metal)
• Landfills (same as incinerators)
• Other Sources i.e. Crematoriums (dental amalgam)

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Problems with Inventories

• Measuring Very Low Concentrations
• Emission Factors Are Based on Limited Testing
• Continuous Monitors Not Available
• Estimates Vary by Inventory Air Inventory vs.
  Toxics Release Inventory (different calcs.)

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Relating Emissions to Deposition

• Atmospheric Deposition Models are Very Complex
• Verified in East US, not West

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Uncertainty when Modeling Mercury 1. Emissions
Inventory Natural Re-emissions/Legacy
Emissions Global Transport 2.
Meteorology Always Complex Added
Importance of Wet Deposition Rainfall 3.
Chemical and Physical Interactions Elemental
to Reactive Transformation Atmospheric
Chemistry (ozone, solar radiation) Dry
Deposition Mechanism Poorly Understood Very
Little Dry Deposition Monitors
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Solutions to Addressing MercuryReduce Emissions
and Deposition

• Regulatory
• Pollution Prevention

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Coal Fired Power Plants

• Clean Air Mercury Rule -Cap Mercury Emissions at
  Power Plants
• Utah adopted a decreasing cap on existing Hg
  emissions

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Incinerators

• New Source Performance Standards 40 CFR Part 60,
  Subpart Ce and Subpart BBBB
• National Standard for Hazardous Air Pollutants,
  40 CFR 63 Subpart EEE
• Pollution Prevention Remove Hg Before it enters
  Waste Stream, Thermometers, Fluorescent Lights,
  Electronics, etc.

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Steel Recycling/Electric Arc Furnaces

• Utah Mercury Switch Bounty Program
• Recyclers Will Get 5.00 per Switch

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Cement Plants

• EPA Proposed New Source Performance Standard,
  Re-Proposal Considers Regulation Hg Only for
  New Sources

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Industrial, Commercial and Industrial Boilers

• National Emission Standard for Hazardous Air
  Pollutant, 40 CFR Part 63, Subpart DDDDD

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Western Regional Air Partnership(WRAP)

• Spring 2004 WRAP Board Identified Hg Interstate
  Transport as an Issue to be Tracked
• The Stationary Source Forum of the WRAP Tracking
  Hg Emissions throughout the Region

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Nevada Mercury Air Emissions Control Program

• Implements Controls at Precious Metal Mining
  Operations (Nevada MACT)
• Requires Monitoring, Testing, Recordkeeping, and
  Reporting
• Sets Aside 250,000 to Measure Fugitive Emissions
  from Heap Leach Piles, Waste Rock, Tailings and
  Undisturbed Mineralized Areas

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EPA Region IX and X

• Interstate Transport and Fate of Hg
• Modeling Efforts by Region X
• Coordination of Hg Activities by Region IX

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Next Steps

• Monitor Deposition to define hot spots
• Work to Refine and Verify Modeling
• Continue to Work with the State of Nevada to
  Reduce Emissions at Gold Mines