New federal environmental regulations will cost the U.S. cement industry billions in plant upgrades, which could lead to job outsourcing, higher prices and ultimately plant closures, according to one industry group.
The Portland Cement Association fears U.S. Environmental Protection Agency standards set to go into effect by 2013 could cripple the industry.
"It's predicted 20 percent of the U.S. plants will go out of business and will not be able to meet the new standards," said Keith E. Williams, who serves as a managing environmental process engineer for Buzzi Unicem USA in Stockertown, former chairman of the Lehigh Valley Berks Air Quality Partnership and a Hercules Cement employee.
Representatives at Hercules in Stockertown, Essroc Cement in Nazareth, and Keystone Cementin Allen Township all said they are equipped to meet the stricter standards.
The regulations, marking the first time the federal government has restricted emissions from existing cement kilns, target more than 100 cement companies nationwide.
The EPA says the regulations will benefit children, whose brains can be damaged by mercury when it makes its way through the air to the water, then to fish, which children and pregnant woman eat.
EPA representatives also say the rules will prevent thousands of serious health risks, including aggravated asthma, irregular heartbeat, heart attacks, and premature death in people with heart and lung disease, as well as thousands of premature heart and lung deaths each year attributed to particulate pollution.
Keystone Cement Plant Manager Stephen Hayden believes the regulations also could lead to the U.S. relying more heavily on Portland cement imported from developing nations. That in turn could lead to an increase in the amount of mercury pollution from other countries, he said.
"Globally, the rules could lead to increased emissions," Hayden said. "It's a possibility."
Hayden said his plant doesn’t have a choice but to comply.
"Once the rules take effect, we must ensure we are in compliance and not take issue with EPA's findings," Hayden said.
In 1993 and 1994, Hercules spent $42 million to modernize its plant, Williams said. Williams expects it will cost $15 million at Hercules to pay for equipment to monitor and control particulate matter.
While Hercules is well below the EPA’s new regulated levels, running anywhere from two times to five times below the standards, Williams doesn’t believe it makes sense to drive the whole U.S. industry out of business.
"The industry is only shipping 50 percent of what it's capable of making," Williams said. "It will be economically a severe hardship."
Essroc Cement representatives remain optimistic, saying the plant already is prepared to meet the new standards. Sites in Nazareth and Martinsburg have emission control systems that can be modified to meet the new regulations.
However, such modifications will be costly and will increase operating costs, according to Gary Molchan, vice president of environmental affairs for Essroc. Housing, infrastructure and new commercial buildings will be more expensive as a result of these changes as this cost is passed along to the consumer, he said.
"We will have no choice but to pass that onto the customer and as a result, housing and infrastructure costs will increase," Hayden said.
Williams said other countries, such as China, Indonesia, India, Brazil and Africa, do not have strict environmental regulations and they make up 98 percent of the total worldwide production of cement.
"If all cement is gone from the U.S., it will be made by high polluting countries and then shipped in boats across the seas causing even more greenhouse gas emissions," Williams said. Some countries, even in the European Union, have higher emissions than in the U.S., Williams said.
Spokesman Brendan Gilfillan said in an e-mail the EPA continues to weigh the concerns of cement makers and is considering potential changes to cement standards that would further clarify and simplify the rules, or provide flexibility without sacrificing health protections the rules provide from emissions of mercury, soot and other air pollutants.
"To ensure these important health protections are not delayed, the rules will remain in place while the agency reconsiders certain technical aspects of the rules," he said.
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