EPA Region 10 Mercury Strategy Framework - Environmental ...

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EPA Region 105. Facilitate Mercury Collection andDisposal ProgramsInformation available to the general public on properdisposal of mercury and mercury-containing productsvaries across the Region 10 states and tribes. In someareas, citizens can learn how to turn in elemental mercuryor have it collected by a contractor. In others, there maybe almost no information available. There may beinformation on recycling everyday items like compactfluorescent light bulbs, but not other products.Each year, the emergency response unit in Region 10’sOffice of Environmental Cleanup responds to one or moreelemental mercury releases, often in schools or households.These cleanups usually cost EPA between $10,000 and$60,000 to complete. One recent example cost more than$300,000. That spill also resulted in serious healthproblems for a young man. The source of mercury in theseevents may be unknown, or from stored mercury in a schoollab, old shed, barn or garage. Given that these eventscontinue to occur with some frequency, it seems reasonableto assume that there is much more elemental mercury justwaiting to be “discovered.” People may even know it isthere, but not be able to figure out how to properly disposeof it.There appears to be a real need to establish local disposaland awareness programs so the public at large has an easyway to responsibly dispose of excess mercury and mercurycontainingproducts. Greater awareness will result inavoiding costly cleanup efforts by EPA and others.Mercury Strategy FrameworkEPA role:EPA will work with states, tribes, and otherjurisdictions to assess existing and needed disposaland awareness programs.• Where disposal options are scarce, we willinvestigate what it would take to develop or supportnew programs.• Where public awareness is low, we will investigateoptions to communicate correct procedures to thepublic. Based on the frequency with whichcleanups have been associated with schools andgold miners, it may be particularly important tocommunicate with those interest groups.Region 10 will work with others who have completedpieces of the communication component. Our rolewill be to investigate and document those effortsbefore determining what new work is needed. Forexample, some educational materials for schools mayalready exist (Region 7 has already developed anextensive amount of information targeted towardsschools). In addition, the Washington Department ofEcology and Department of Health have alreadybegun working with gold miners to collect mercury.Mercury Strategy Framework - Page 9
EPA Region 106. Address Unregulated Atmospheric Sourcesin Region 10While there are fewer large sources of atmosphericmercury emissions in the Northwest than on the EastCoast, several large sources exist and could have asignificant local impact. Mercury emissions from most ofthese facilities are currently unregulated, and strategiesare needed to address these sources.For a variety of reasons, the most significant atmosphericsources of mercury in Region 10 are currently unregulated.The largest emitters in Region 10 include Ash GroveCement in Durkee, Oregon (approx. 2,500 lbs/year),Monsanto’s P4 plant in Soda Springs, Idaho (approx. 900lbs/year), TransAlta Power Plant in Centralia, Washington(approx. 530 lbs/year), Potlatch in Lewiston, Idaho(approx. 500 lbs/year), and the PGE Power Plant inBoardman, Oregon (approx. 120 lbs/year). With theexception of the newly adopted Oregon rules for the PGEBoardman plant, none of these facilities have applicable airregulations to control mercury, such as National EmissionStandards for Hazardous Air Pollutants (NESHAP). Somesources simply do not yet have federal or state standards;for others, federal standards have been vacated as a result ofcourt challenges.Mercury Strategy FrameworkThe Clean Air Mercury Rule (CAMR), which regulatedemissions from coal fired power utilities, has been vacatedby the DC Circuit Court and is being appealed by EPA.Until the appeal is resolved, there will be no effectivefederal regulations for mercury from coal-fired powerplants.Other federal air rules such as the Boiler MACT (MaximumAchievable Control Technology) have also been vacatedand the timeframe for re-establishing such rules is unclear.The Boiler MACT rules controlled emissions by requiringfacilities to install the best control technology for eachindustry that uses boilers. Because the Boiler MACT wasvacated, a large number of potential sources of mercury areleft unregulated, the largest in Region 10 being Ash Grove,P4 and Potlatch. EPA is also considering the developmentof a MACT for the cement industry which will addressmercury emissions from existing facilities.Mercury Strategy Framework - Page 10
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