Comments on: Mercury limits vary for Great Lakes; may harm already polluted waters http://greatlakesecho.org/2009/12/16/great-lake-states-mercury-limits-vary-may-pose-harm-to-already-polluted-waters/ Fri, 10 Feb 2012 19:59:20 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: Great Lakes states spotty on coal limits; some water contaminants ignored. | Great Lakes Echo http://greatlakesecho.org/2009/12/16/great-lake-states-mercury-limits-vary-may-pose-harm-to-already-polluted-waters/comment-page-1/#comment-3426 Great Lakes states spotty on coal limits; some water contaminants ignored. | Great Lakes Echo Fri, 18 Dec 2009 02:37:09 +0000 http://greatlakesecho.org/?p=15384#comment-3426 [...] Tomorrow: Great Lake states mercury limits vary; may pose threat to already polluted waters. Share this: [...] [...] Tomorrow: Great Lake states mercury limits vary; may pose threat to already polluted waters. Share this: [...]

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]]> By: Bill http://greatlakesecho.org/2009/12/16/great-lake-states-mercury-limits-vary-may-pose-harm-to-already-polluted-waters/comment-page-1/#comment-3397 Bill Wed, 16 Dec 2009 15:07:35 +0000 http://greatlakesecho.org/?p=15384#comment-3397 In 1985 National Gypsum started burning what they called alternate fuels. We found that it was another name for hazardous waste. When Lafarge took over National Gypsum in a leveraged buyout they were permitted to burn 17 million gallons of haz waste per year. If permits had been approved they would have been able to burn 21 million gallons per year. It would have made Lafarge the largest such facility in North America. We were able to have the permits denied and Lafarge stopped burning haz waste late in 2001. What we did not know was that the Canadian fly ash from the Nanticoke power plant in Ontario was the source of over 50% of the mercury emissions coming out of Lafarge's stacks. Lafarge received a permit to use 450,000 tons of that ash per year and is paid $17.00 per ton delivered to the plant. Sometime after 1991 when they started using the ash Nanticoke installed stack scrubbers and pollution control equipment. It made the ash much more polluted and testing should have been done by the MDEQ before it should have been used. It was a process change and that requires testing. In 2005 Lafarge applied for permits to increse production which required stack tests. We then found that Lafarge was emitting over 580 pounds of mercury. That made them the number two emitter right behind DTE of Monroe. DT installed stack scrubbers and pollution control equipment a couple of years ago whiuch reduced their mercury and emissions up to 70% or more. Guess who became number one. Testing of our Thunder Bay Watershed by the EPA and MEQ show that the entire watershed is already over the limit for mercury contamination. Of the 3 forms of mercury Lafarge emits 96% of the most toxic form of mercury. When that vopor comes incontact with moisture it converts to methyl mercury. Using the under reported amount that Lafarge reports at 360 pounds per year it is enough to pollute 2.9 million acres of water per year. The plant is on the shore of hunder Bay of Lake uron. We hope that the new rules coming out early next year by the EPA will end the pollution. In 1985 National Gypsum started burning what they called alternate fuels. We found that it was another name for hazardous waste. When Lafarge took over National Gypsum in a leveraged buyout they were permitted to burn 17 million gallons of haz waste per year. If permits had been approved they would have been able to burn 21 million gallons per year. It would have made Lafarge the largest such facility in North America. We were able to have the permits denied and Lafarge stopped burning haz waste late in 2001. What we did not know was that the Canadian fly ash from the Nanticoke power plant in Ontario was the source of over 50% of the mercury emissions coming out of Lafarge’s stacks. Lafarge received a permit to use 450,000 tons of that ash per year and is paid $17.00 per ton delivered to the plant. Sometime after 1991 when they started using the ash Nanticoke installed stack scrubbers and pollution control equipment. It made the ash much more polluted and testing should have been done by the MDEQ before it should have been used. It was a process change and that requires testing.

In 2005 Lafarge applied for permits to increse production which required stack tests. We then found that Lafarge was emitting over 580 pounds of mercury. That made them the number two emitter right behind DTE of Monroe. DT installed stack scrubbers and pollution control equipment a couple of years ago whiuch reduced their mercury and emissions up to 70% or more. Guess who became number one.

Testing of our Thunder Bay Watershed by the EPA and MEQ show that the entire watershed is already over the limit for mercury contamination. Of the 3 forms of mercury Lafarge emits 96% of the most toxic form of mercury. When that vopor comes incontact with moisture it converts to methyl mercury. Using the under reported amount that Lafarge reports at 360 pounds per year it is enough to pollute 2.9 million acres of water per year. The plant is on the shore of hunder Bay of Lake uron. We hope that the new rules coming out early next year by the EPA will end the pollution.

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