EPA Rule on Mercury Emissions May Close up to 27% of U.S. Cement Plants

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Written by John Egan for Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--Final rules issued Tuesday by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) (Washington, D.C.) would force makers of Portland cement to cut mercury emissions by 92%, which industry sources say could lead to the closure of up to 27% of domestic cement-makers.

The 461-page set of new rules, issued Tuesday, also would cut cement-plant emissions of hydrocarbons by 83%, particulate matter by 92%, sulfur dioxide by 78%, hydrochloric acid by 97%, and nitrogen oxides by 5%, according to the agency.

Portland cement is a widely used ingredient in concrete and stucco. Cement-makers are the nation's third-largest emitter of mercury, after power plants and industrial boilers.

The rules will go into effect in 2013. The agency initially proposed reducing cement-plant emissions last year, which drew more than 3,200 comments. For more information, see June 4, 2009, article - U.S. Cement Manufacturers Evaluate Proposed $1.14 billion Mercury NESHAP Ruling.

The new rules finalize amendments to the National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants (NESHAP) from Portland cement manufacturers and finalize changes to New Source Performance Standards (NSPS) for Portland cement plants. The new rules are the first in which the EPA has regulated mercury air emissions from existing cement kilns. They also are the first time that the agency has lowered emissions levels for new kilns and reduced emission limits for acid gases. The rules limit particle pollution from new and existing kilns, and sets new-kiln limits for particle and smog-forming nitrogen oxides and sulfur dioxide.

Mercury in the air eventually gets into water, where it changes into methylmercury, a highly toxic form that builds up in fish, the EPA said in announcing the final rules. People are primarily exposed to mercury by eating contaminated fish. Because the developing fetus is the most sensitive to the toxic effects of methylmercury, women of childbearing age and children are regarded as the populations of greatest concern, the agency added.

"Americans throughout the country are suffering from the effects of pollutants in our air, especially our children who are more vulnerable to these chemicals," EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson said in a statement. "This administration is committed to reducing pollution that is hurting the health of our communities. With this historic step, we are going a long way in accomplishing that goal. By reducing harmful pollutants in the air we breathe, we cut the risk of asthma attacks and save lives."

The EPA estimated that the rules would prevent between 960 and 2,500 premature deaths annually, starting in 2013. The rules also would avert an estimated 1,500 heart attacks each year, as well as numerous cases of bronchitis, acute asthma and other ailments, the agency added.

EPA estimated it would cost the industry about $950 million annually to comply with the new regulations. The Portland Cement Association, which opposed the new rule, disagreed, estimating it would cost several billion dollars per year to meet the new emissions standards.

"The U.S. cement industry provides more than 15,000 high-wage jobs to working Americans and, along with allied industries, generates nearly $27.5 billion in gross domestic product (GDP)," according to a letter sent last week to EPA administrator Jackson by the Portland Cement Association (PCA). The letter, signed by John Spitaleri Shaw, who is PCA senior vice president for government relations, claims that cement-makers have lost 5,000 jobs in recent years. "Using EPA's own economic model, PCA estimates that approximately 30 cement plants are at risk of closure in the event EPA issues a final rule similar to the proposed NESHAP." Portland cement makers have approximately 110 active plants in the U.S. Closing 30 of those sites would mean 27% of those plants would shut down.

In recent years, U.S. cement makers have been hard hit by the slowdown in residential construction. U.S. cement production has declined by about 30% in the U.S. since 2005. Since the beginning of 2009, 14 cement plants have closed in the U.S., including three owned by Cemex, four owned by Holcim, and two owned by Lafarge.

Under the Clean Air Act, however, when the EPA proposes new emissions standards to protect the public health, the agency is forbidden from conducting a cost-benefit analysis.

Environmental activists told the Los Angeles Times that California, which is the nation's largest producer of cement and has several heavy-emitting kilns, would see particularly high public-health benefits from the new rule. That also suggests that cement plants in that state would face heavier costs and greater potential for closure.

However contentious the new rules, the EPA let the cement industry know it wasn't finished. "This is not the end of the matter," the EPA says in the rule. "To the contrary, based on our current knowledge, we believe that it may be appropriate for the agency to set a standard of performance for greenhouse gases (GHGs)" like carbon dioxide. Currently, the EPA is drafting regulations reducing emissions of mercury by coal-fired power plants; that regulation is expected to be issued by 2011. The rule said that the EPA could regulate cement-makers' GHGs through a maximum achievable control technology rule-making, and that it was "working towards a proposal" for the industry.

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