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The negative side of energy use—pollution of the environment—is not a recent problem. In 1306 King Edward I of England so objected to the noxious smoke from London's coal-burning fires that he banned coal's use by everyone except blacksmiths. The enormous scale of today's energy use has increased environmental concerns.
Coal-fired electric power plants emit gases that are harmful to the environment. Scientists believe that burning huge quantities of fossil fuels causes the "greenhouse effect," in which gases from the fuels trap heat in the earth's atmosphere and cause increased warming, which threatens the environment. Burning coal also contributes to the formation of acid rain and to public health concerns. Sulfur dioxide, for instance, has been shown to cause respiratory problems.
Carbon dioxide accounts for the largest share of greenhouse gas emissions. In 2002 the combustion of coal in the United States produced 2.1 billion metric tons of carbon dioxide, or 36% of total carbon dioxide emissions from all fossil fuels used in the United States.
ACID RAIN. Acid rain is any form of precipitation that contains a greater-than-normal amount of acid. Even nonpolluted rain is slightly acidic (with a pH of about 5.6) because rainwater combines with the carbon dioxide normally found in the air to produce a weak acid called carbonic acid. But pollutants in the air can increase the acidity of rain and other forms of precipitation, such as snow and fog.
Chemicals such as oxides of sulfur and nitrogen, which are given off during the combustion of fossil fuels, are pollutants that combine with precipitation to form acids. These oxides increase in the air because of automobile exhaust, industrial and power plant emissions, and other fossil fuel combustion processes. In many parts of the world acid rain has caused significant damage to forests, lakes, and other ecosystems.
HEALTH ISSUE:
Emissions from coal-fired power plants include mercury, sulfur oxides, and nitrogen oxides. Mercury reaches humans when they eat fish contaminated by airborne mercury that settles in lakes and streams. Scientific data have not yet determined a significant link between mercury that originates from coal-fired power plants and significant health effects in humans. However, sulfur oxides and nitrogen oxides contribute to air pollution, which can cause upper respiratory conditions
SOLUTION:
THE CLEAN COAL TECHNOLOGY LAW. In 1984 Congress established the DOE's Clean Coal Technology (CCT) program (PL 98–473). Congress directed the DOE to administer cost-shared projects (financed by both industry and government) to demonstrate clean coal technologies. The demonstration projects had the goal ofusing coal in more environmentally and economically efficient ways.
CLEAN COAL TECHNOLOGY AND THE CLEAN AIR ACT. The stated goal of both Congress and the DOE has been to develop cost-effective ways to burn coal more cleanly, both to control acid rain and to improve the nation's energy security by reducing dependence on imported fuels. One strategy is a slow, phased-in approach in which utility companies and states reduce their emissions in stages.
Under the Clean Air Act of 1990 (PL 101–549), restrictions on sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide emissions took effect in 1995 and tightened in 2000. Each round of regulation requires coal-burning utilities to find lower-sulfur coal or to install cleaner technology, such as "scrubbers" that reduce smokestack emissions that contribute heavily to air pollution. When the first Clean Air Act was passed in 1970, it was aimed at changing the air-quality standards at new generating stations, and older coal-using plants were exempt. Under the 1990 act, older plants are also covered by the regulations.
In January 2004 the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) proposed new regulations for reducing emissions of sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, and mercury from coal-burning power plants. The Interstate Air Quality Rule focuses on twenty-nine eastern states whose sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide emissions are significantly contributing to fine particle and ozone pollution problems. The Utility Mercury Reductions Rule focuses on controlling mercury emissions from power plants. (When taken into the body, mercury can result in serious health effects in children.) These proposed actions strengthen Clean Air Act regulations and standards but are not specifically mandated by the Congress. When implemented, the EPA expects them to result in rapid and significant air quality improvement.
CLEANER COAL USE. The coal-burning process can be cleaned by physical or chemical methods. Scrubbers, which are a physical method commonly used to reduce sulfur dioxide emissions, filter coal emissions by spraying lime or a calcium compound and water across the emission stream before it leaves the smokestack. The sulfur dioxide bonds to the spray and settles as a mudlike substance that can be pumped out for disposal. Scrubbers, however, are expensive to operate, so particulate collectors are the most common emissions cleaners for coal. While they are cheaper to operate than scrubbers, they are less effective. Cooling towers reduce heat released into the atmosphere and reduce some pollutants. Chemical cleaning, a relatively new technology not yet in widespread use, involves the use of biological or chemical agents to clean emissions.
Read more: Coal - Environmental And Health Concerns About Coal - Air, Plants, Emissions, Sulfur, R11, and Dioxide http://www.libraryindex.com/pages/1519/Coal-ENVIRONMENTAL-HEALTH-CONCERNS-ABOUT-COAL.html#ixzz0xhZXMjIl
The negative side of energy use—pollution of the environment—is not a recent problem. In 1306 King Edward I of England so objected to the noxious smoke from London's coal-burning fires that he banned coal's use by everyone except blacksmiths. The enormous scale of today's energy use has increased environmental concerns.
Coal-fired electric power plants emit gases that are harmful to the environment. Scientists believe that burning huge quantities of fossil fuels causes the "greenhouse effect," in which gases from the fuels trap heat in the earth's atmosphere and cause increased warming, which threatens the environment. Burning coal also contributes to the formation of acid rain and to public health concerns. Sulfur dioxide, for instance, has been shown to cause respiratory problems.
Carbon dioxide accounts for the largest share of greenhouse gas emissions. In 2002 the combustion of coal in the United States produced 2.1 billion metric tons of carbon dioxide, or 36% of total carbon dioxide emissions from all fossil fuels used in the United States.
ACID RAIN. Acid rain is any form of precipitation that contains a greater-than-normal amount of acid. Even nonpolluted rain is slightly acidic (with a pH of about 5.6) because rainwater combines with the carbon dioxide normally found in the air to produce a weak acid called carbonic acid. But pollutants in the air can increase the acidity of rain and other forms of precipitation, such as snow and fog.
Chemicals such as oxides of sulfur and nitrogen, which are given off during the combustion of fossil fuels, are pollutants that combine with precipitation to form acids. These oxides increase in the air because of automobile exhaust, industrial and power plant emissions, and other fossil fuel combustion processes. In many parts of the world acid rain has caused significant damage to forests, lakes, and other ecosystems.
HEALTH ISSUE:
Emissions from coal-fired power plants include mercury, sulfur oxides, and nitrogen oxides. Mercury reaches humans when they eat fish contaminated by airborne mercury that settles in lakes and streams. Scientific data have not yet determined a significant link between mercury that originates from coal-fired power plants and significant health effects in humans. However, sulfur oxides and nitrogen oxides contribute to air pollution, which can cause upper respiratory conditions
SOLUTION:
THE CLEAN COAL TECHNOLOGY LAW. In 1984 Congress established the DOE's Clean Coal Technology (CCT) program (PL 98–473). Congress directed the DOE to administer cost-shared projects (financed by both industry and government) to demonstrate clean coal technologies. The demonstration projects had the goal ofusing coal in more environmentally and economically efficient ways.
CLEAN COAL TECHNOLOGY AND THE CLEAN AIR ACT. The stated goal of both Congress and the DOE has been to develop cost-effective ways to burn coal more cleanly, both to control acid rain and to improve the nation's energy security by reducing dependence on imported fuels. One strategy is a slow, phased-in approach in which utility companies and states reduce their emissions in stages.
Under the Clean Air Act of 1990 (PL 101–549), restrictions on sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide emissions took effect in 1995 and tightened in 2000. Each round of regulation requires coal-burning utilities to find lower-sulfur coal or to install cleaner technology, such as "scrubbers" that reduce smokestack emissions that contribute heavily to air pollution. When the first Clean Air Act was passed in 1970, it was aimed at changing the air-quality standards at new generating stations, and older coal-using plants were exempt. Under the 1990 act, older plants are also covered by the regulations.
In January 2004 the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) proposed new regulations for reducing emissions of sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, and mercury from coal-burning power plants. The Interstate Air Quality Rule focuses on twenty-nine eastern states whose sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide emissions are significantly contributing to fine particle and ozone pollution problems. The Utility Mercury Reductions Rule focuses on controlling mercury emissions from power plants. (When taken into the body, mercury can result in serious health effects in children.) These proposed actions strengthen Clean Air Act regulations and standards but are not specifically mandated by the Congress. When implemented, the EPA expects them to result in rapid and significant air quality improvement.
CLEANER COAL USE. The coal-burning process can be cleaned by physical or chemical methods. Scrubbers, which are a physical method commonly used to reduce sulfur dioxide emissions, filter coal emissions by spraying lime or a calcium compound and water across the emission stream before it leaves the smokestack. The sulfur dioxide bonds to the spray and settles as a mudlike substance that can be pumped out for disposal. Scrubbers, however, are expensive to operate, so particulate collectors are the most common emissions cleaners for coal. While they are cheaper to operate than scrubbers, they are less effective. Cooling towers reduce heat released into the atmosphere and reduce some pollutants. Chemical cleaning, a relatively new technology not yet in widespread use, involves the use of biological or chemical agents to clean emissions.
Read more: Coal - Environmental And Health Concerns About Coal - Air, Plants, Emissions, Sulfur, R11, and Dioxide http://www.libraryindex.com/pages/1519/Coal-ENVIRONMENTAL-HEALTH-CONCERNS-ABOUT-COAL.html#ixzz0xhZXMjIl
