The EPA is issuing final Clean Air Act Standards for boilers and incinerators, framed around public health protection. This revised implementation is expected to cost approximately 50% less than a similar proposal last year.
Mercury, soot, lead, and other harmful pollutants released by boilers and incinerators can cause a host of developmental disabilities and disease, including:
- Cancer
- Heart disease
- Aggravated asthma
- Premature death
The Clean Air Act Standards for boilers and incinerators are expected to attack these issues, avoiding 2,600-6000 premature deaths, 4,100 heart attacks, and 42,000 asthma attacks per year in 2014.
"The Clean Air Act standards we are issuing today are based on the best available science and have benefitted from significant public input," says Gina McCarthy, assistant administrator for EPA’s Office of Air and Radiation. “As a result, they put in place important public health safeguards to cut harmful toxic air emissions that affect children’s development, aggravate asthma and cause heart attacks at costs
substantially lower than we had estimated under our original proposal."
For more information, including what types of boilers and incinerators are covered by the updated standards, visit www.epa.gov/airquality/combustion
New Standards for High Efficiency Boilers
