EPA Limits Cement Plant Emissions

After a court-issued remand, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has announced new emissions limits for mercury and total hydrocarbons for cement kilns built after December 2005. The new regulations will not apply to kilns built before that date, which are only required to meet standard industry practices for reducing emissions. EPA estimates that the new limits will reduce national mercury emissions by 1,300 to 3,000 lbs (590 to 1,400 kg) per year and total hydrocarbon emissions by 1,100 tons (1,000 tonnes) per year beginning in 2012. In addition, the regulations ban the use of flyash (sometimes added to a kiln in the production process instead of shale or clay) from utility boilers that use activated carbon injection to control mercury emissions, unless a plant can prove that the use of such flyash will not add to its total mercury emissions. A fact sheet on the new regulations is available online at www.epa.gov/ttn/oarpg/t3/fact_sheets/cement_amend_fs_120806.html.