Mercury Articles | Environmental Leader

EPA Bans Mercury Compounds Under Reformed Toxic Substances Control Act

September 1, 2016July 3, 2017 by Jessica Lyons Hardcastle

The EPA is banning exports of five mercury compounds, effective Jan. 1, 2020, under the reformed Toxic Substances Control Act. An EPA notice published in the Federal Register lists the five mercury compounds: mercury (I) chloride or calomel; mercury (II) oxide; mercury (II) sulfate; mercury (II) nitrate; and cinnabar or ... Read more »

Emissions Control for Coal-Fired Power Plants

October 23, 2015July 3, 2017 by Jessica Lyons Hardcastle

Carbonxt and United Conveyor Corporation have partnered to provide new emission control systems and sorbents for coal-fired power plants in North America and Europe. The companies say the partnership combines their respective expertise in air quality control systems and activated carbon-based systems for the removal of mercury, thereby simplifying customer ... Read more »

Supreme Court Strikes Down Mercury Pollution Rule

June 30, 2015December 18, 2015 by Jessica Lyons Hardcastle

The US Supreme Court struck down the EPA’s first-ever national standards for mercury pollution from coal-fired power plants, saying the agency failed to take into account the costs the rule would impose on utilities. Industry groups said the pollution regulation would costs $9.6 billion annually. The National Mining Association, which, ... Read more »

Are Mercury Rules a Toxic Double Standard?

June 5, 2015July 3, 2017 by Jessica Lyons Hardcastle

New EPA rules aimed at curbing mercury emissions, which mainly affect coal-fired electrical generating plants, are based on bad science, write Willis Eschenbach and Jane M. Orient, MD, in the summer issue of the Journal of American Physicians and Surgeons. Medical sources of mercury are likely far more important, but ... Read more »

The Bright Side of Recycling Lamps

April 29, 2015April 28, 2015 by Karen Henry

High intensity discharge lamps, neon/argon lamps, and fluorescent and compact fluorescent lamps all contain small amounts of mercury, which the EPA classifies as a universal hazardous waste. Although the EPA’s Universal Waste Rule (UWR) requires the handler of mercury-containing equipment to dispose of it in a way that prevents the ... Read more »

Auto Industry Initiative to Reduce Toxic Runoff

January 23, 2015January 22, 2015 by Jessica Lyons Hardcastle

The EPA, the automotive industry and states have signed an agreement to reduce the use of copper and other materials in motor vehicle brake pads. The Copper-Free Brake Initiative calls for cutting copper in brake pads to less than 5 percent by 2021 and 0.5 percent by 2025. This voluntary ... Read more »

URS Technology Improves MATS Compliance

December 4, 2014July 3, 2017 by Jessica Lyons Hardcastle

URS has introduced a mercury control technology, HBS Injection, to help US power plants comply with the Mercury and Air Toxics Standard regulation issued by the EPA. Recent full-scale testing of the technology at a Midwestern power plant has demonstrated up to 75 percent reduction in stack mercury emissions. The ... Read more »

SC Johnson Publishes Restricted Use Ingredients

December 1, 2014July 3, 2017 by Jessica Lyons Hardcastle

SC Johnson has, for the first time, published its “restricted-use” ingredients — chemicals and other materials the company limits or has banned in its products to protect human health and the environment. Eliminated ingredients include bisphenol A (BPA), mercury and mercury-containing compounds, diethyl phthalate (DEP) and polyvinyl chloride (PVC). The ... Read more »

Hazardous Chemicals Found in Halloween Supplies

October 28, 2014October 27, 2014 by Ken Jennison

Target, Walmart, Kroger, CVS, Party City and Walgreens are among the retailers whose Halloween costumes and party supplies contain hazardous chemicals, according to a study by the Ecology Center’s HealthyStuff.org project. The project tested 106 Halloween related products, including costumes, accessories, decorations and party favors, and found chemicals that are ... Read more »

Cabot, Westmoreland Expand Activated Carbon Capacity

October 1, 2014July 3, 2017 by Jessica Lyons Hardcastle

Cabot Corporation and Westmoreland Coal say they plan to increase activated carbon manufacturing capacity in North America, doubling the capacity of their Bienfait, Saskatchewan manufacturing facility to meet the future demand for mercury removal products for use in the coal-fired utility market. The jointly owned facility will produce an additional ... Read more »

Urban Air Toxics Down Across US

August 22, 2014August 22, 2014 by Jessica Lyons Hardcastle

Coal-fired power plants and other manmade sources have reduced toxic mercury emissions about 60 percent since 1990, according to the EPA’s Second Integrated Urban Air Toxics Report to Congress. The report is the final of two reports required under the Clean Air Act to inform Congress of progress in reducing ... Read more »

How to Best Deal with E-Waste

August 7, 2014August 7, 2014 by Jessica Lyons Hardcastle

Almost a quarter of e-waste that developed countries discard floods into just seven developing countries — with major potential environmental and health risks for the people who live there, says a study published in the ACS journal Environmental Science & Technology. Knut Breivik and colleagues note that the export from ... Read more »

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