Power Plants Will Not Cause Mercury 'Hot Spots'

摘要

Scientists at the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) have concluded that mercury emissions from power plants will not result in areas of increased deposition (sometimes referred to as "hot spots") under either set of mercury regulations proposed by the Environmental Protection Agency: Cap and Trade, or Maximum Achievable Control Technology (MACT). In its official comments submitted to the EPA on its proposed utility emission regulations, EPRI described results from extensive, state-of-the-art computer models simulating deposition of mercury released from every coal-fired plant in the United States, and from all other mercury emission sources in the U.S. and throughout the world. The computer models estimate emissions and subsequent deposition of mercury based on current scientific understanding of atmospheric chemistry and transport, evaluated against current mercury deposition data.