14 DAY TRIAL // Big American power plants keep disrupting the balance of residents, through the overwhelming amount of toxic pollutants they emit, like lead, mercury, nickel or arsenic.
The Environmental Integrity Project (EIP) has managed to identify the first 20 major players responsible for low air quality and has revealed the most contaminated states in the US, Huffington Post reports.
Pennsylvania ranks first for arsenic and lead, Ohio second for its alarming level of mercury and selenium and Indiana fourth, taking into consideration its amount of chromium and nickel. Texas also occupies the first position when it comes to its concentration of mercury and selenium and Kentucky is the runner up, judging by its level or arsenic.
All the 20 major players in the mercury industry have succeed in generating no less than 43,020 pounds, almost 22 tons of this dangerous chemical, only last year.
If these numbers fail to highlight the seriousness of the current situation, EIP officials reveal this amount represents 65% of the pollution triggered by this sector worldwide, during an entire year. Moreover, it appears that a single drop of mercury is more than enough to contaminate a 20-acre lake.
Mercury affects especially pregnant woman and young children. Its presence is correlated with serious development problems and a wide series of illnesses. If you live in Texas, it appears that there is no place left to run and hide from the high level of this toxic element, since it is the home of 11 of the 50 major emitters present in the entire country.
The major power plants in this state released into the atmosphere almost 17% of the overall amount of mercury emissions reported in the US in 2010.
Fortunately, President Obama plans change the fate of exposed residents while curbing the amount of toxic emissions through a new legal framework expected by the end of the year. The new standards could lower mercury pollution coming from power plants by up to 90%.