Pollution/Medical Concerns
Air Pollution:
Coal gasification's greatest promise is its potential to all but eliminate, or "sequester", the most common and pernicious greenhouse gas of all - carbon dioxide, or CO2 - from the smokestack stream. That's a major reason why the U.S. Department of Energy is funding efforts to help advance the technology.
But CO2 sequestration is not part of the plans for the Mesaba Energy project, meaning its output of carbon dioxide will be similar to that of traditional coal plants.
EXCELSIOR ENERGY ANNOUNCES CARBON DIOXIDE STORAGE STUDY FOR MESABA ENERGY PROJECT
Excelsior Energy
June 24, 2005
An excerpt from Coal Gasification: the arguments
John Thompson is with the Clean Air Task Force, a national environmental group. He says a plant in North Dakota pipes its carbon dioxide to an oil field in Canada.
But there are no oil fields in northern Minnesota. And the geology on the Iron Range doesn't have layers that could store the gas.
Water Pollution:
Excelsior Energy estimates that 90% of the Mercury will be removed prior to discharging the remaining waste into the watershed. However, there is a history of unresolved water permit violations at the Wabash River Plant, upon which this project is based -- process wastewater levels of selenium, cyanide and arsenic were in violation of the Wabash permit, and levels of selenium and cyanide were "routinely" out of compliance.
The Cost of Mercury Removal in an IGGC Plant
Prepared for Department of Energy by Parsons Infrastructure and Technology Group, Inc.
Final Report - September 2002
Articles:
Minnesota Power looks to increase Pollution
Great Lakes Directory
March 12, 2002
Coal Gasification: the arguments
Stephanie Hemphill, Minnesota Public Radio
November 21, 2003
Environmentalists hit Mesaba Energy proposal on carbon issue
Don Jacobson
November 3, 2003
