NRDC, Sierra Club, Earthjustice: EPA Failing to Protect Americans from Chlorine Plant Mercury Emissions, According to NRDC-Sierra Club Lawsuit

Earthjustice * NRDC * Sierra Club

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CONTACT: NRDC: Jon Devine, 202-289-2361, or Linda Greer, 202-289-2377

Sierra Club: Eric Uram 608-257-4994, Navis Bermudez, 202-675-2392, or Wendy Balazik, 202-675-2383

Earthjustice: Jim Pew or Cat Lazaroff, Earthjustice, 202-667-4500

Groups Sue Agency for Failing to Account for ‘Lost’ Mercury

WASHINGTON (February 17, 2004) — A new Environmental Protection Agency rule does nothing to curb chlorine plants’ use of toxic mercury, fails to protect public health, and violates the Clean Air Act, according to legal action filed by two national conservation groups today. The groups, NRDC (Natural Resources Defense Council) and Sierra Club, charge that the rule does not address “lost” mercury pollution from the plants and eliminates previous pollution control requirements.

Earthjustice, which is representing the two groups, filed the suit today in the Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit. In a separate legal action, NRDC petitioned EPA to reconsider the rule and set standards guaranteeing reductions in the plants’ toxic mercury emissions.

Only nine chlorine plants in the United States still use an outdated mercury process. One of which is Vulcan Chemical at Port Edwards, Wisconsin. Nearly 90 percent of domestically produced chlorine produced today is made with mercury-free technology.

These outdated plants buy tons of mercury each year to replace mercury that evaporates from the giant vats they use to make chlorine. Each plant has more than 50 of these mercury vats (called “cells” in the industry) measuring approximately 50 feet long by more than 5 feet wide, each holding some 8,000 pounds of mercury. In 2002, the nine plants purchased 260,000 pounds of mercury destined for the cells. In 2000 and 2001, Vulcan reported emitting over 1100 pounds of mercury to EPA. But, in 2000, the facilities added far more mercury to their cells than they reported released, resulting in 135,000 pounds of unaccounted for mercury in that year alone. By contrast, coal-fired power plants emit about 96,000 pounds of mercury into the air every year.

The EPA publicly acknowledges that it cannot account for the mercury each plant must replace every year. The agency concluded in its December rule that “the fate of all the mercury consumed at mercury cell chlor-alkali plants remains somewhat of an enigma.”

“It’s outrageous that the EPA has no apparent interest in discovering what happens to 130,000 pounds of mercury, much of which these plants likely emit into the air, and plans to do nothing about it,” said Jon Devine, an NRDC attorney. “The agency apparently has forgotten what its name stands for.”

The new EPA rule fails to set emission standards for the evaporated mercury. Instead, it establishes certain “housekeeping” requirements that the agency claims will reduce emissions, without specifying a goal for these reductions. Further, EPA made those housekeeping requirements optional. The plants can opt out of them if they choose to measure their mercury emissions.

“The amount of mercury that these plants are ‘losing’ dwarfs the estimated 96,000 pounds of mercury emitted by coal-fired power plants, and it’s all disappearing from nine outdated factories,” said Jim Pew, the Earthjustice attorney representing the groups in the case. “It’s clear the Bush administration is not serious about reducing the public’s exposure to this toxin.”

EPA argues that measuring mercury emissions is not feasible for chlorine plants because the evaporating mercury escapes through open doors and vents in the ceiling, not through a smokestack. But an EPA regulation established in 1975 specified that chlorine plants could measure their emissions by routing evaporated mercury to smokestacks, and required them to keep their mercury emissions below 5.07 pounds per day. The new EPA rule eliminates this requirement, allowing the plants to emit unlimited amounts of mercury. Given that the average chlorine plant loses more than 37 pounds of mercury every day, or 13,680 pounds per year, the groups believe that EPA’s decision to revoke the pollution cap is irresponsible.

Wisconsin is home to Vulcan Chemicals Port Edwards facility, one of the nine remaining mercury-cell chlor-alkali facilities.

“It’s irresponsible of the Bush administration to allow this to continue anywhere, especially Wisconsin. Fish advisories for mercury exist on every single lake in Wisconsin while only about half of the people understand mercury’s threat. It’s just another example of the Bush administration’s free-ride for polluters that allow unnecessary health threats to our families,” said Eric Uram, Regional Representative for the Sierra Club in Madison, WI.

The groups also maintain there is no reason for these plants to continue consuming mercury to produce chlorine.

Mercury is a potent neurotoxin that, like lead, especially threatens the brains and nervous systems of fetuses and young children. A number of neurological diseases and problems are linked to mercury exposure, including learning and attention disabilities, and mental retardation. Mercury also might be linked to the recent increase in autism, Parkinson’s disease and Alzheimer’s disease.