NEW HAVEN, Conn., Jul 24, 2006 -- UPI

 

Researchers say the amount of mercury emitted into the air in the Northeastern United States fluctuates depending on electric power industry activity.

Yale University Professor of Meteorology Xuhui Lee and recent Ph.D. graduate Jeffrey Sigler co-authored the study "Recent Trends in Anthropogenic Mercury Emission in the Northeast United States."

They found that between 2000 and 2002 the emission rate of mercury decreased by 50 percent, but between 2002 and 2004 the rate increased between 50 percent and 75 percent. During that five-year period, overall emissions declined by 20 percent.

The dramatic annual changes in mercury emissions, the scientists say, cannot be explained climatologically by air flow patterns that would bring either clean or polluted air into the region.

The researchers estimate power plants account for up to 40 percent of total emissions in New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania and in New England.

"The study highlights just how important power plants are in influencing regional mercury emission," said Sigler. "We should not forget other source categories when formulating abatement policies, since they also contribute significant amounts to the total emissions," Lee added.

The research appears in the Journal of Geophysical Research-Atmospheres.

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