Texas has half of the nation's worst mercury polluting coal plants

San Antonio Business Journal
Oct. 28, 2004

Texas is the home of five of the 10 worst mercury polluting coal-burning power plants in the nation, according to a new report.

The Limestone plant, which is close to Waco, ranked the highest in the nation for mercury emissions, with 1,800 pounds in 2002. The Monticello plant in Titus County in Northeast Texas ranked second with 1,324 pounds of mercury. WA Parish, outside of Houston ranked sixth and Martin Lake and Pirkey in the Longview/Tyler area ranked eighth and ninth respectively. The Deely/Spruce coal plants are ranked 30th in the nation for mercury emissions, with 636 pounds for 2002, a number revised downward from the 661 pounds originally reported.

The report, "Fishing for Trouble: How Toxic Mercury Contaminates Fish in U.S. Waterways," by Clear the Air is being released in Texas by Smart Growth San Antonio, SEED Coalition and the Sierra Club.

"Mercury reductions are needed, as soon as possible at all the coal-burning power plants in order to protect our children from brain damage," says Marianne Kestenbaum, Executive Director of Smart Growth San Antonio. "Texas is already the nation's mercury hotspot and the EPA is failing to protect our health, so it is crucial that the Texas legislature take action to reduce mercury."

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