WASHINGTON — The Obama administration says 5,000 deaths could be prevented each year under rules announced Friday to limit the amount of mercury and other harmful pollutants released by industrial boilers and solid- waste incinerators.
The planned rules would reduce mercury emissions more than 50 percent by requiring steep and costly cuts from companies operating about 200,000 industrial boilers, heaters and incinerators. The Environmental Protection Agency proposed the rules Friday and is seeking public comment.
Industrial boilers and heaters are the second-largest source of mercury emissions in the U.S., after coal-fired power plants. The boilers burn coal and other fuels to generate heat or electricity and are used by petroleum refiners, chemical and manufacturing plants, paper mills, municipal utilities and even shopping malls and universities.
The EPA said the new federal limits would save lives and prevent up to 36,000 asthma attacks each year by reducing air pollution. Once airborne, mercury settles in water, where it builds up in ocean and freshwater fish and can be highly toxic to people who eat them.
The estimated cost of installing and operating the pollution controls totals about $3.6 billion a year, the EPA said.
