Air Toxics from Cement Plants

In the most recent EM magazine by the Air & Waste Management Association, on page 44 there is an article on the threat to the American cement industry by tight EPA air emission standards. According to the Portland Cement Association the stringent standards and need to install expensive controls could force 30 plants to close and it puts another 12 plants "at risk" of being forced out of business.

What the EPA wants to achieve with the tighter emission rules is a reduction in the annual emissions of mercury (by 11,600 tons), hydrocarbons (by 11,700 tons), particulate matter (by 10,500 tons), hydrochloric acid (by 2,800 tons) and sulfur oxides (by 160,000 tons).

The Portland Cement Association did a webinar on this and the power point presentation, as a summary, is posted on the web. What I found interesting is how well the cement plant population aligns with marine transportation arteries (as per slide 4 of the presentation).

To put two of the cement industry's toxins into perspective, considering the coming ECA:

• With an ECA in domestic waters, SOx from ships would be cut by less than 40,000 tons, and
  
• Marine does not contribute to mercury pollution.