Region 1: EPA New England
EPA Tackles Mercury Problem in Maine
Note: EPA no longer updates this information, but it may be useful as a reference or resource.
By Ira Leighton
February 14, 2001
Getting mercury out of the environment is one of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's most daunting challenges. Mainers living in Orrington and down the Penobscot River from the HoltraChem manufacturing plan know this all too well.
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Mercury is daunting for two reasons: First, our society has for too long accepted manufacturing practices – for example, coal-burning operations, incineration and chlorine-making – that emit mercury as a byproduct.
Second, even after mercury is eliminated as an industrial byproduct, it is very difficult to get out of the environment. Even after all sources of mercury pollution are eliminated, it may take decades for the environment – as well as the fish, birds and animals who live in it – to be free of contamination.
Unleashed in the environment, mercury moves between air, land and water. It does not break down to less toxic forms, and it accumulates in the tissues of animals, getting more and more concentrated as it moves up the food chain.
The good news is that EPA and the six New England states are attacking the mercury problem head-on and have a lot to show for it.
Most noteworthy was our decision last December to crack down on mercury emissions from coal-burning power plants nationally. This decision will have major ramifications for New England not because we generate much of this pollution, but because so much of it drifts into the region from other states.
EPA has already cracked down on mercury emissions from municipal and medical waste incinerators, which is important for New England because so many municipalities and hospitals burn their waste. Municipal incinerators are New England's largest source of airborne mercury, accounting for half the mercury in the air compared to only 10 percent from power plants. EPA guidelines issued in 1995 have resulted in a 90 percent reduction in mercury emissions from these incinerators.
We've also seen pollution cutbacks in Maine's paper industry – both in terms of mercury discharges and chlorine use. International Paper in Jay, for example, has cut its mercury discharges by 80 percent and virtually eliminated chlorine use. The chlorine reductions are important because HoltraChem used a mercury-manufacturing process to produce chlorine for paper mills. So by reducing chlorine use, processes like the one HoltraChem used are becoming obsolete.
But curbing mercury at the source is only half of the battle. The other half is cleaning up areas contaminated by mercury pollution and getting rid of the stockpiles.
Our most immediate challenge is getting the HoltraChem property and the Penobscot River cleaned up as quickly as possible. This requires careful scientific investigation and analysis each step of the way. To do this right, unfortunately, will take time. Ultimately, EPA and the Maine Department of Environmental Protection will make sure the HoltraChem plant and Penobscot River are cleaned up.
EPA and Maine DEP have overseen studies of the soil and groundwater at the plant and of sediment and water in the Penobscot River. While the studies have proceeded, several cleanup actions have been completed, such as relining a process pond, preventing the possible failure of a landfill on the river's edge and improving storm water controls. More cleanup actions will be coming.
Ridding ourselves of the stockpiles – including the 130 tons from HoltraChem now dispersed between Orrington, Illinois, New York and a ship in the Atlantic – is an even more challenging task made especially difficult by legal constraints.
EPA New England tried last fall to persuade the US Department of Defense – which has 9.7 million pounds of mercury in storage – to accept the HoltraChem material, but was told by DOD it was not possible because the mercury was from a civilian source and it is under a mandate to reduce its mercury stores. (It's worth noting that members of Maine's congressional delegation are preparing legislation to get the DOD to accept unneeded civilian mercury.)
The remaining options are limited. While there is no approved way for mercury to be disposed as of yet, technology is being developed. By law, EPA cannot legally order the 130 tons of mercury to be stockpiled anywhere, nor can it stop a company from selling mercury overseas. As a result, we are faced with the uncomfortable reality of 20 tons of HoltraChem mercury being shipped to India – only to see it sent back due to public opposition.
Finding solutions to these problems is not going to be easy. Without a concerted effort from everyone – EPA, Congress, states, responsible companies and the public – we will continue to see these kinds of frustrating predicaments not only in Orrington, but elsewhere in the US
— Ira Leighton is acting regional administrator of EPA New England.