Electric Power Industry:
Largest
US Toxic Polluter
Most toxic metals end up in the solid waste stream
| Producing electricity from coal and oil releases a wide
range of pollutants into the environment. In addition to toxic air pollution
from power plant smoke-stacks, large volumes of toxic chemicals are produced at
coal and oil-fired power plants and included in millions of tons of solid and
liquid wastes that are typically disposed of at or near the power plants that
generate these wastes.
|
|||||||
| Metal |
Raw Coal |
 |
Removed by
Coal Washing |
|
Waste
Disposal |
|
Air Emissions |
|
Hg mercury |
109 tons |
13 tons |
44 tons |
52 tons |
|||
|
As arsenic |
7884 tons |
3236 tons |
6275 tons |
47 tons |
|||
|
Be beryllium |
1167 tons |
189 tons |
4601 tons |
8 tons |
|||
|
Cd cadmium |
750 tons |
251 tons |
6533 tons |
3 tons |
|||
|
Cr chromium |
8810 tons |
2474 tons |
970 tons |
62 tons |
|||
|
Ni nickel |
9339 tons |
2754 tons |
1305 tons |
52 tons |
|||
|
Se selenium |
2587 tons |
1098 tons |
496 tons |
184 tons |
|||
source: Laid To Waste by the Clean Air Task Force Mar00
If all that
pollution isn't enough,
one must take into account the environmental devastation
left behind by strip mines like this one.
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