An assessment of mercury emissions and health risks from a coal-fired power plant
- Brookhaven National Lab., Upton, NY (United States). Analytical Sciences Div.
Title 3 of the 1990 Clean Air Act Amendments (CAAA) mandated that the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) evaluate the need to regulate mercury emissions from electric utilities. In support of this forthcoming regulatory analysis the U.S. DOE, sponsored a risk assessment project at Brookhaven (BNL) to evaluate methylmercury (MeHg) hazards independently. In the US MeHg is the predominant way of exposure to mercury originated in the atmosphere. In the BNL study, health risks to adults resulting from Hg emissions from a hypothetical 1,000 MW coal-fired power plant were estimated using probabilistic risk assessment techniques. This study showed that the effects of emissions of a single power plant may double the background exposures to MeHg resulting from consuming fish obtained from a localized area near the power plant. Even at these more elevated exposure levels, the attributable incidence in mild neurological symptoms was estimated to be quite small, especially when compared with the estimated background incidence in the population. The current paper summarizes the basic conclusions of this assessment and highlights issues dealing with emissions control and environmental transport.
- Research Organization:
- Brookhaven National Lab., Upton, NY (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE, Washington, DC (United States)
- DOE Contract Number:
- AC02-76CH00016
- OSTI ID:
- 10104530
- Report Number(s):
- BNL-61080; CONF-940853-12; ON: DE95003963; TRN: AHC29503%%69
- Resource Relation:
- Conference: Summer meeting of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers,Denver, CO (United States),14-17 Aug 1994; Other Information: PBD: [1994]
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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