燃煤电厂汞标准.docx

燃煤电厂汞标准.docx

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燃煤电厂汞标准

POWERPLANTMERCURYANDAIRTOXICSSTANDARDS

OverviewofProposedRuleandImpacts

发电厂汞和大气有毒物排放标准

提议法案及影响综述

ACTION

OnMarch16,2011,theEnvironmentalProtectionAgency（EPA）proposedthefirstnational

standardtoreducemercuryandothertoxicairpollutionfromcoalandoil-firedpowerplants.

Thisdocumentprovidesanoverviewofthebenefitsoftheproposedcleanairstandardsand

highlightskeyfactsandimpactsassociatedwiththem.

情景

2011年3月16日美国环保部提出了第一个燃煤燃油电厂汞及其他有毒大气污染物排放控制国家标准。

本本件提出了该大气清洁法提案的益处和他们相关的突出关键事实及与影响。

BACKGROUND

Thisproposedruleisdevelopedundersection112oftheCleanAirAct（CAA）,provisions

thatsetstandardstoreduceairpollutionfromcoal-andoil-firedpowerplants.

Mostnotably,thisproposalsetstechnology-basedemissionslimitationstandardsformercury

andothertoxicairpollutants,reflectinglevelsachievedbythebest-performingsources

currentlyinoperation.

Existingsourceshaveuptofouryearstocomplywiththesestandards;allexistingsources

mustcomplyinthreeyears,butindividualsourcescanobtainanadditionalyearif

technologycannototherwisebeinstalledintime.

TheregulationsissuedtodayareunderaConsentDecreeoftheD.C.CourtofAppeals

requiringEPAtoissueaproposalbythisdate,andafinalruleinNovember2011.

POWERPLANTEMISSIONS

.

Thereareabout1,350coalandoil-firedunitsat525powerplantsthatemitharmful

pollutantsincludingmercury,arsenic,othertoxicmetals,acidgases,andorganicairtoxics

includingdioxin.

.

In1990,threeindustrysectorsmadeupapproximatelytwo-thirdsoftotalU.S.mercury

emissions:

medicalwasteincinerators,municipalwastecombustors,andpowerplants.Two

ofthosesectorsarenowsubjecttostandardsandhavereducedtheirmercuryemissionsby

morethan95percent.Inaddition,mercurystandardsforotherindustries,suchascement

productionandsteelmanufacturing,havereducedmercuryemissionsfromawiderangeof

sources.

.

Powerplantsarethedominantemittersofmercury（50percent）,acidgases（over50percent）

andmanytoxicmetals（over25percent）intheUnitedStates.Despitetheavailabilityof

provencontroltechnologies,andthemorethan20yearssincethe1990CAAAmendments

passed,therearestillnoexistingfederalstandardsthatrequirepowerplantstolimittheir

emissionsoftoxicairpollutantslikemercury,arsenicandmetals.

.

Thesestandardsarelongoverdue.In2000,afteryearsofstudy,EPAissuedascientificand

legaldeterminationthatitwas“appropriateandnecessary”tocontrolmercuryemissions

frompowerplants.Theprioradministrationfinalizedaruletocutmercurypollutionfrom

powerplantsbuttheD.C.CircuitstrucktheruledownasillegalandrequiredEPAtodevelop

standardsthatfollowthelawandthescienceinordertoprotecthumanhealthandthe

environment.

1

.

Whilenewer,andasignificantpercentageofolder,powerplantsalreadycontroltheir

emissionsofmercury,heavymetals,andacidgases,abouthalfofthecurrentelectric

generatingunits（EGUs）stilldonothaveadvancedpollutioncontrolequipment.

EMISSIONREDUCTIONSRESULTINGFROMCOMPLIANCEWITHTHE

PROPOSEDSTANDARDS

Theproposedruleestablishesemissionstandardsformercury,acidgases（hydrochloricacid,or

HCl,asasurrogate）,andnon-mercurymetallictoxicpollutants（totalparticulatematter（PM）as

asurrogatewithalternativesurrogateoftotalmetalairtoxics）,andeachyearwould:

o

Prevent91percentofthemercuryincoalburnedinpowerplantsfrombeingemittedto

theair;

o

Reduceacidgasemissionsfrompowerplansby91percent;and

o

Reducesulfurdioxide（SO2）emissionsfrompowerplantsby55percent.

HEALTHBENEFITSOFTHEPROPOSEDSTANDARDS

.

ByupdatingsafeguardsundertheCleanAirActtoreducemercury,acidgases,andother

life-threateningpollutioninourair,EPAisactingtoprotectourhealthandourfamiliesfrom

theillnesses—andprematuredeaths—linkedtothesepollutants.

.

Uncontrolledreleasesoftoxicairpollutantslikemercuryfrompowerplantsdamage

children’sdevelopingbrains,reducingtheirIQandtheirabilitytolearn.

.

Theycausearangeofdangeroushealthproblemsinadultsaswell,includingcancer,heart

diseaseandprematuredeath.Mercuryandmanyoftheotherairtoxicsalsopolluteour

nation’slakes,streams,andrivers.FishadvisorieshavebeenissuedacrosstheUSasaresult

ofmercurycontamination.

.

Theproposedstandardswillhavedirectbenefitstoneighborhoodsnearpowerplantsaswell

asneighborhoodshundredsofmilesawayfromthenearestpowerplant.

.

Eachyearthestandardswillpreventseriousillnessesandhealthproblemsforthousandsof

Americans,including:

upto17,000prematuredeaths,11,000heartattacks,120,000asthma

attacks,12,200hospitalandemergencyroomvisits,4,500casesofchronicbronchitis,and

5.1millionrestrictedactivitydays.

.

Thevalueoftheairqualityimprovementstotals$59billionto$140billioneachyear.That

meansthatforeverydollarspenttoreducethispollution,Americansget$5-13inhealth

benefits.

.

Thebenefitsarewidelydistributedandareespeciallyimportanttominorityandlowincome

populationswhoaredisproportionatelyimpactedbyasthmaandotherdebilitatinghealth

conditions.

INVESTMENTSTHATKEEPPEOPLEWORKINGANDCREATEJOBS

.

Eachyear,850,000missedworkor“sick”dayswillbeavoided,enhancingproductivity,

loweringhealthcarecostsforAmericanfamilies.

.

Moneyspentonpollutioncontrolatpowerplantscreateshigh-qualityAmericanjobsin

manufacturingsteel,cementandothermaterialsneededtobuildpollutioncontrolequipment,

increatingandassemblingpollutioncontrolequipment,ininstallingtheequipmentatpower

plants,andoperatingandmaintainingtheequipmentonceitisinstalled.

.

EPAestimatesthisproposedrulewillprovideemploymentforthousandsbysupporting

31,000short-termconstructionjobsand9,000long-termutilityjobs.

2

.

Thestandardswillmaintainfueldiversity:

o

Coal-firedgenerationbecomesmuchcleanerwithlittleeffectonitsroleasthemajor

generatorofU.S.electricpower.

o

EPA’smodelingshowsthatplantstotalinglessthan10GWofthenation’scoal-fired

capacity（notgeneration）areexpectedtoretireby2015ratherthaninvestincontrol

technologies,whichrepresentsabouta2percentdecreaseincoal-firedgeneration.

Theplantsthatareexpectedtoretireareprimarilythesmaller,lessefficientand

higherpollutingunitsthatarenotusedmuch.

REGULATORYCERTAINTYANDALEVELPLAYINGFIELDFORCLEANER

ENERGYSOURCES

.

TheseupdatedandlongoverdueCleanAirActstandardswillprovideregulatorycertainty,

openingupopportunitiesforinvestment.

.

Theseproposedstandardswillresultintheupgradingofexistingcontrols（inparticularPM

controlslikeelectrostaticprecipitatorsorESPs）andtheinstallationofgoodengineering

controls（includingdrysorbentinjectionorDSI）–allofwhichisachievablebythe2015

compliancetimeline.

.

Historyhasshownthatpowerplantscaninstallcontrolswellwithinthetimeframesrequired

bytheCleanAirAct.From2001to2003,150GWofnewgenerationwasbuilt;from2008

to2010,about20GWofscrubberswasinstalledeachyear.Theproposedstandardswill

leveltheplayingfieldsothatallpowerplantswillhavetolimittheiremissionsofmercuryas

plantsinsomestatesalreadydo.Installingthesewidely-availablecontrolswillhelp

modernizetheagingfleetofuncontrolledpowerplants,mostofwhichareover30yearsold

andmanyofwhichareover50yearsold.

.

EPAmodelingindicatesthattheseproposedstandardswillresultinrelativelysmallchanges

intheaverageretailpriceofelectricity,primarilyduetoincreaseddemandfornaturalgas-

keepingelectricitypricesbelow1990levels.

.

Thistranslatesintoa1.3percentincreaseinresidentialnaturalgaspricesandaconsumer

electricitypriceincreaseofapproximately$3-4permonth.

.

Inadditiontotheproposedstandardsfortoxicairpollutants,EGUsarethesubjectofother

rulemakings,addressingtheinterstatetransportofemissionscontributingtoozoneand

particulatematterairqualityproblems,coalcombustionwastes,coolingwatercontrol

requirementsandgreenhousegasemissions.Tothefullextentthattheagency’slegal

obligationspermit,EPAplanstotakeintoaccountthecombinedeffectsoftheseupcoming

actionsontheindustryinitsdecision-makingprocess,andtoapproachtheserulemakingsin

waysthatallowtheindustrytomakepractical,integratedcompliancedecisionsthat

minimizecostswhilestillachievingthefundamentallyimportantpublichealthand

environmentalbenefitsintendedundertheCleanAirAct.

COMPLIANCEPLANNING,SYSTEMRELIABILITYANDLOWCOST

ELECTRICITY

.

EPA,FERCandDOEwillworkwithentitieswhoseresponsibilityistoensureanaffordable,

reliablesupplyofelectricity,includingStateUtilityCommissions,RegionalTransmission

Organizations（RTOs）,theNationalElectricReliabilityCouncil（NERC）toshare

informationandencouragethemtobeginplanningforcomplianceandreliabilityasearlyas

possible.

3

.

Earlyplanningandactionstospurorsupportearlyplanningbypowercompanies,utility

regulatorsandsystemoperatorscandomuchtoensureorderly,affordablecompliancewith

thestandards.

.

EPAmodelingindicatesthatincludingenergyefficiencyinvestmentsthatachievemoderate

levelsofenergydemandreductionincompliancestrategieswill:

o