| 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 |
|||
