Mercury Science and Policy Charles Driscoll, Syracuse University - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

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Mercury Science and Policy Charles Driscoll, Syracuse University Environmental Monitoring and Assessment, NYSERDA, Albany 15 November, 2011 Outline 1. Background on Mercury and U.S. Patterns 2. Study of Great Lakes Region Emissions and

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Mercury Science and Policy

Charles Driscoll, Syracuse University Environmental Monitoring and Assessment, NYSERDA, Albany 15 November, 2011

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Outline

  • 1. Background on Mercury and U.S. Patterns
  • 2. Study of Great Lakes Region

– Emissions and deposition – Fish mercury & risks – Wildlife mercury

  • 3. Mercury Policy
  • 4. Take Home Messages and Research Needs
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Mercury in the Environment

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Sunderland et al., in prep., based on Holmes et al., 2010; Soerensen et al., 2010; Smith-Downey et al., 2010 and Sunderland and Mason, 2007

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Watershed Hg Sensitivity

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Note: as supplied by Anne Pope, OAQPS on 9/30/09

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Fish Mercury across the U.S.

Derived from Wente, S. 2004

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Fish Advisories for Mercury are Everywhere

Source: EPA website http://water.epa.gov/scitech/swguidance/fishshellfish/fishadvisories/upload/ 2009_09_22_fish_advisories_nlfaslides.pdf

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Background

  • 35 papers in 2 special

issues: Ecotoxicology, Environmental Pollution

  • 170+ scientists and

managers

  • >300,000 measurements
  • Supported by Great

Lakes Commission EPA- funded Great Lake Air Deposition (GLAD) program

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Forest, shrubland Cropland, grassland, barren Urban Water Wetland

500 M iles

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Emissions Exceed Deposition of Mercury for the Great Lakes Basin, and the Region is a Net Mercury Sink

reduced reduced

  • xidized
  • xidized

basin 200 km buffer litter dry wet evasion runoff

Emissions Input Deposition Losses Emissions in the broader GL region are high (26% of total US/Canada emissions) and include a high percentage of oxidized Hg (46%).

Mercury Flux (฀g/m

2-yr)

25 20 15 10 5

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Mercury in Selected Fishes

Evers et al. 2011.

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Mercury in Game Fish

Evers et al. 2011 based on Zanaski et al. and Monson et al. 2011.

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Mercury and Walleye Health

Evers et al. 2011 based on Sandheinrich et al. 2011.

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Mercury in Great Lakes Wildlife

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Literature Accounts of Affected Species

Evers et al. 2011.

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Mercury Trends – Lake Sediments

N = 91 lakes Drevnick et al. 2011.

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U.S. Emissions Evers et al. 2011. U.S. Great Lakes States Emissions Global Emissions U.S. Emissions

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Mercury Trends - Fish

Red line = 0.3 ppm – EPA human health criterion Monson et al. 2011, Zananski et al. 2011

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Mercury Policies

Maximum Achievable Control Technology

Clean Air Act Section 112

The maximum degree of emissions reduction achievable taking into consideration cost, any non-air quality health and environmental impacts and energy requirements.

  • For existing facilities:

– No less stringent than the average emissions limit achieved by the best performing 12% of the sources.

  • For new facilities:

– No less stringent than the emissions limit achieved by the best controlled existing source.

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~ ~

1990 CAAA HAP TRAIN ACT EPA Regulatory Reform Act MACT Incineration Controls 2000 Power Plant HAP 2011 Utility Air Toxics Rule MACT 2008 CAMR Vacated State (17) Rules 2008 25 states MACT Rule 2005 CAMR

Congress EPA Courts States UNEP

US Mercury Emission Policy Timeline

Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee

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Policy Drivers

Upcoming MACT Standards for Sources of Mercury

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MercNet Provides Comprehensive Geographical Coverage

  • Baseline data and

infrastructure

  • Will we see and be able

to understand a change?

  • Model evaluation
  • Want a range of site

types

  • Global source impacts
  • Collaboration w/Nat.

networks (NADP, LTER, CASTNET, NEON )

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Take Home Messages

  • 1. Mercury contamination is more extensive and severe

than previously documented.

  • 2. Past mercury controls have been beneficial but mercury

in fish and wildlife continue to exceed ecological and human health risk thresholds.

  • 3. Further decreases in mercury emissions from US sources

would have additional benefits, roughly in proportion to level of declines.

  • 4. A comprehensive mercury monitoring system would

help evaluate trends and effectiveness of policy decisions.

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Research Needs

  • Multi-media monitoring of mercury in air,

deposition, ecosystem components and biota.

  • Improved models to understand and predict

the fate and effects of changes in mercury deposition.

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Acknowledgements

  • Kathy Lambert, David Schmeltz, Elsie

Sunderland, Dave Evers, Jim Weiner, Madeline Turnquist, Kim Driscoll, Maureen Hale

  • NYSERDA, U.S.EPA GLAD
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