Yeah, you're right - that's BAD!
But sorta funny. Here's a Ford ...
...................... FRegards
Posted on 06/07/2010 8:14:00 PM PDT by RC one
Although the federal government ordered states more than a decade ago to dramatically limit mercury discharges into the Great Lakes, the BP refinery in northwest Indiana will be allowed to continue pouring small amounts (2 lbs of mercury/year is small?) of the toxic metal into Lake Michigan for at least another five years.
A little-noticed exemption in BP's controversial new state water permit gives the oil company until 2012 to meet strict federal limits on mercury discharges. In documents, Indiana regulators predict the refinery won't be able to comply and will ask to continue polluting after that date.
Federal records analyzed by the Tribune show BP puts 2 pounds of mercury into the lake every year from its sprawling plant 3 miles southeast of Chicago in Whiting, Ind. That amount is small compared with the mercury that falls into the water from air pollution, but mercury builds up in the environment and is so toxic that even tiny drops can threaten fish and people.
The BP refinery and a power plant in nearby Chesterton, Ind., are the only two industrial polluters that still dump mercury directly into Lake Michigan, federal records show. Under standards adopted by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in 1995, BP's annual discharge of the metal should be reduced to 8/100th of a pound.
Studies have shown that mercury, a neurotoxin, is absorbed by fish and can be harmful if eaten in significant quantities, particularly by pregnant women and children.
(Excerpt) Read more at chicagotribune.com ...
Oh really? F Rahm.
The title is incorrect. They are not DUMPING mercury.
They are DUMPING WATER.
The federal standard they are being asked to meet is 1.3 parts mercury per trillion parts of water.
That is a VERY low concentration of mercury.
Based on simple math, they are currently running at around 50 parts of mercury per trillion parts of water.
It also means that they are dumping 80,000,000,000 lbs of water per year.
That would be about 9,132,420 lbs of water per hour (or 1.22 million gallons of water per hour).
And in that massive amount of water, they are looking for 1/100th of an ounce of mercury !!!
OUCH.
Notice that the evil trib did not bother to give the amounts of these releases.
>>> A Tribune review of federal records shows that the waste water the BP refinery pumps into Lake Michigan includes more than a dozen toxic byproducts of oil refining, including benzene, toluene and suspended solids containing mercury, lead, nickel and vanadium. <<<<<
OH MY.
Care to give us the concentrations of these chemicals?
It’s the equivalent of 13 cubic centimeters of Mercury. It’s a very small amount and far less than was historically released into the lake from all sources.
Mercury is one of those selectively enforced polutants. Far more than 2 lb/year of mercury goes into the waste stream from CFL lightbulbs which end up in the trash and lakes/rivers.
Wonder if they can make it right by dumping a Ford and Lincoln into the lake too. B-D
We used to play with handfuls of mercury in 1st grade.
And what is the largest source of mercury pollution in the lake? The trib claims...
>>>> Air pollution remains the greatest source of manmade >>>> mercury in the lakes. A recent federal study estimated >>>> that 880 pounds of the metal drop into Lake Michigan >>>> every year, mostly from the smokestacks of coal-fired >>>> power plants along and near the shore.
ROFLOL.
880 POUNDS... OH MY !!!
The government is TALKING about ticketing the jaywalker... while they are ignoring the 15 car pileup down the street.
ROFLOL.
880 pounds or 4 pounds....
Which polluter would you go after?
Lets check back in with the government and see.
>>> But a growing chorus of critics,
lets see who they are
>>>> including Mayor Richard Daley,
okay, the shakedown king
>>>>> Gov. Rod Blagojevich
now where have I heard this name before?
oh right... THAT Rod...
>>>>> and members of Congress,
hmmm, ‘members of Congress’ that would be Rahm
>>> argue that BP’s new state permit
>>> sets a bad precedent
>>> that threatens to reverse
>>> more than three decades
>>> of slow but steady progress
>>> cleaning up the lake.
ah, so the permit is bad because... aw forget it.
the permit would be at the same level of mercury that they have been emitting for years.
instead of some radical new standard that they do not have the technology to meet.
Lets go to the expert....
>>> “We determined a long time ago that Lake Michigan
>>> is a very special resource that deserves added
>>> protection,” said Dale Bryson, president of the
>>> Alliance for the Great Lakes and former chief
>>> of the EPA’s regional water office. “This isn’t
>>> harmless stuff. By now they should have figured
>>> out what to do about it.”
Oh, by NOW they should have figured out how to work a miracle.
Gotcha.
BP wanted to upgrade and expand their Whiting IN refinery. Reduced emmissions, new jobs...but Noooo, Senator Obama, Senator Durbin and Rep Emanuel put a stop to the plan. Several months later they were complaining because BP had not created any new jobs in the Chicago area.
you win. I didn’t realize that that much mercury was released into the air. scary.
I have read that some scientists have theorized that WW1 and WW2 were a result of mercury poisoning throughout Europe. Mad as hatters you know.
Thanks.
I understand the feelings about BP. I am not too happy with them right now either.
But this article was a hit piece by B.O. and his cronies in Chicago.
libs like to argue out of both sides of their (xxx).
Yeah, you're right - that's BAD!
But sorta funny. Here's a Ford ...
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