EPA: We Should Probably Get Rid of That 2.6 Billion Pounds of Toxic Waste in Our Drinking Water
The EPA announced late last week that it would be updating its pollution guidelines for steam electric power plants for the first time in 30 years, a move that will reduce pollutants like mercury, arsenic, lead, and selenium in American lakes and rivers by as much as 2.6 billion pounds.
When the regulations proposed by the EPA are finalized, they will affect the nation’s 1,200 steam electric power plants that generate electricity using nuclear fuel or fossil fuels like coal, oil, and natural gas.
“America’s waterways are vital to the health and well-being of our communities,” acting EPA administrator Bob Perciasepe wrote in a press release. “Reducing the pollution of our waters through effective but flexible controls such as we are proposing today is a win-win for our public health and our economic vitality.”
Waste discharged from power plants accounts for more than half of all toxic pollutants released into American waterways, damaging 23,000 miles of rivers and streams. And this “effluent” is not benign.
High levels of exposure to pollutants like lead, mercury, and arsenic have been linked to neurological damage and cancer as well as damage to the circulatory system, kidneys, and liver, according to the EPA. Toxic heavy metals have also been known to cause harm to aquatic wildlife, including massive fish deaths.
http://news.yahoo.com/epa-probably-rid-2-6-billion-pounds-toxic-175322116.html
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