All Three Major Illinois Utilities to Cut Emissions

Midwest Generation followed the leadership displayed by Illinois' other two largest utilities, Ameren and Dynegy, and agreed to significantly reduce mercury emissions, as well as smoke-stack exhaust, from their coal-fired power plants in Illinois. Read the story in the Chicago Tribune.

Another Utility Agrees to Cut Mercury Emissions

Two weeks after a large utility agreed to cut its mercury emissions from coal-fired power plants, Houston-based Dynegy has agreed to install new new pollution prevention equipment at its five Illinois coal plants, which could make them among the cleanest in the nation, as reported in the story in the Chicago Tribune.

Utility First to Agree to Mercury Reduction

Ameren, one of the state's largest utilities, has agreed to cut mercury, smog and soot emissions at its coal-fired power plants in response to pressure on the industry from the Blagojevich administration on new mercury rules, as reported in the Chicago Tribune.

Mercury Emission Limits Make Citizens Speak Up

More than 7,000 Illinois residents have voiced their opinion about Gov. Blagojevich's proposal to limit the emissions on coal-fired power plants in just a few weeks of the public comment period, according to a new story by the State Journal-Register. The proposal is currently being considered by the Illinois Pollution Control Board.

Mercury Ruins Tuna for Pregnant Woman

The health risks of injesting mercury are so great that Consumer Reports now recommends that pregnant women avoid all canned tuna, as well as Chilean sea bass, halibut, American lobster and Spanish mackerel, as reported in an article in the Chicago Tribune.

Feds Blind Spot for Hot Spots

The Chicago Tribune has reported that the U.S. EPA inspector general will release a study this summer that critizes the federal plan to trade mercury emissions from power plants because it does not take into account the need to address damage to the environment in local "hot spots."

Cut Mercury Emissions Now

In this editorial, the Springfield Journal Register makes the case for the dangers of mercury in the enviroment and the need to implement Gov. Rod Blagojevich's plan for capping mercury emissions from coal-fired power plants.

Powerplant Emissions on the Rise

A new analysis by the Chicago Tribune finds that mercury emissions from coal-fired powerplants rose by 4 percent last year nationwide. In Illinois, airborne mercury levels jumped 28 percent from 1999 to 2002 as powerplants began to switch to a low-sulfer but high-mercury type of coal.

Mercury and Seafood

The Chicago Tribune has a multimedia presentation of its three-part series on the dangers of mercury in seafood and how the government has downplayed its hazards. An online calculator lets you see how much fish you can eat safely.

Smokestack Rules Work in Massachusetts

Massachusetts has the nation's toughest mercury emission laws for incinerators. After seven years on the books, the amounts of the toxic metal have declined by 32 percent in a signature freshwater fish caught near some of those facilities, as reported in this recent story in the Boston Globe.