News
Advocates Welcome EPA’s Proposed Pollution Restrictions On Trash Incineration. But Environmental Justice Concerns Remain.
Known to emit some of the most toxic pollutants with no safe level of exposure, waste-to-energy facilities disproportionately harm adjacent, mostly disinvested communities and strap them with new health-related costs.
By Aman Azhar
Advocates and environmental groups largely welcomed the Environmental Protection Agency’s Jan. 11 proposal to impose stricter pollution limits on large trash incinerators. But they caution that the new standards, if implemented, would not eliminate the public health risks caused by toxic pollutants, such as lead, mercury and dioxin, that these facilities are known to emit in abundance.
Related Knowledge Center: Methane
State of Play
As the production of natural gas from shale fields has expanded, so have methane emissions. U.S. methane emissions grew 27 percent from 1990 to 2009, according to the Energy Information Administration. Methane contributes about 10 percent of all U.S. greenhouse gas emissions and is 25 times more potent a greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide.