New rules from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will cut toxic air pollution from medical waste incinerators and eliminate a loophole that allowed incinerators to exceed pollution limits during startup or malfunctions.
The EPA’s action, taken within months of the appointment of EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson, follows two lawsuits and more than a decade of advocacy by environmental groups. The rule announced today will apply to medical waste incinerators nationwide.
The new rule sets significantly stronger standards for medical waste incinerators’ emissions of mercury, dioxins, lead, and other dangerous pollutants. Of particular importance, the rule mandates:
- A significant reduction in the amount of mercury that can be released from incinerators.
- Enhanced testing of small, rural, medical waste incinerators, resulting in better enforcement in rural communities
- Significant reductions in dioxins, lead and other major pollutants, all of which will bring increased health benefits to communities hosting medical waste incinerators
In addition, the rule eliminates a loophole that previously allowed medical waste incinerators to exceed emission limits whenever they started up, shut down, or malfunctioned.
"The actions taken by EPA today to reduce air pollution in communities hosting medical waste incinerators is long overdue and welcomed," said Jane Williams, chair of the Sierra Club Air Toxics Task Force.
"EPA’s new Administrator, Lisa Jackson, has taken a big step toward reducing pollution from medical waste incinerators," said Jim Pew, an Earthjustice attorney who handled the cases. "It is a breath of fresh air, figuratively and literally, that EPA has taken action that will allow people to breath more easily in towns and cities across the country."
In Related News…
There is much potential to reduce the nation’s greenhouse gases through recycling, waste reduction and by reusing formerly contaminated sites, according to a new EPA report.
The report finds that 42% of U.S. greenhouse gas emissions are influenced by materials management policies. This includes the impacts from extracting raw materials, food processing, and manufacturing, transporting, and disposing of products. Another 16 to 20% of emissions are associated with land management policies. That includes emissions from passenger transportation, construction, and from lost vegetation when greenfields are cleared for development. In addition, the equivalent of 13% of U.S. emissions is absorbed by soil and vegetation and can also be protected or enhanced through land management policies.
The report suggests that land management and materials management approaches should be part of the nation’s toolbox to meet the target of an 83% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.
“Opportunities to Reduce Greenhouse Gas Emissions through Materials and Land Management Practices” can be read at the link below.
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