Toxic Mercury Pollution

Gallery: Man & FaunaPosted January 12, 2013612 views10 comments

The Cholla Power Plant is a major coal-fired power plant near Joseph City, Arizona - 80 miles west of Flagstaff.

The Environmental Protection Agency is limiting the amount of mercury and other pollutants from coal-fired power plants.
The Mercury and Air Toxics Standards, or MATS, also regulate toxicants such as arsenic, acid gas, nickel, selenium and cyanide.

The EPA issued its new rules last month, giving utilities at least three years to comply with the mercury limit, the latest in a list of environmental regulations that make coal plants far more costly to operate. Meeting the new mercury rules will likely cost tens of millions of dollars, and may cause some plants to close altogether.

Mercury occurs naturally in coal and is released through the stacks when burned. According to the EPA, mercury eventually settles to the ground and washes into bodies of water, where it can accumulate in a highly toxic form in fish, causing myriad health problems in humans and animals that eat the fish.

The coal burned at the Cholla plant comes from the McKinley Mine in New Mexico, and contains an unusually high level of mercury.

D800
18-200mm @ 48mm
1/4 sec, f/4.5
Mode: Av
Metering: Multi-segment
ISO: 1600
AF mode: AF-C
White balance: AUTO+1
Flash: Off

Hand-held, Braced against car window.
WAAAY Too cold at 2 am to get out and set up a tripod!

Comments

10 comments

Comment posted by Buck Ward on January 12, 2013 at 10:49 AM

This is quite a good photograph, I think, Sandy. I was wondering about your settings, 'til I saw your note at the bottom re hand-holding. On a tripod, with time to explore photographically, in the right conditions, this has the potential of perhaps being spectacular - pollution notwithstanding.

Registered on December 8, 2003, 96 Posts, 1917 Comments

Comment posted by Carl Battreall on January 13, 2013 at 4:20 PM

Sandy,
Cool image, kind of spooky. Coal is a nightmare in so many different ways.I agree with Buck that putting the camera on a tripod and having a longer exposure could possibly make a even more dramatic image. Have you ever seen the work of Micheal Kenna, his industrial night images are some of the most amazing night images around.

Registered on August 29, 2007, 24 Posts, 222 Comments

Comment posted by SandyRichardsBrown on January 13, 2013 at 6:30 PM

Well, I'm kicking myself that i was too lazy to set up correctly. I was exhausted, cold, and looking for a rest stop for the night. Saw this sight looming near the freeway, and took a quick exit for a quick shot.
I'll be back thru there one day and get a better image.
Sandy

Registered on November 24, 2003, 3937 Posts, 12909 Comments

Comment posted by Nancy de Flon on January 13, 2013 at 8:01 PM

Sandy, it makes me think of how Robert Glenn Ketchum can make beautiful images of something bad, like pollution---his book of the Hudson Valley (my stomping ground) is an excellent example. You've succeeded wonderfully with this.

Registered on June 28, 2010, 61 Posts, 284 Comments

Comment posted by Mark Seaver on January 16, 2013 at 9:48 AM

Oh My! Terrific drama, Sandy....congrats on your WP.

Registered on January 23, 2011, 1103 Posts, 17270 Comments

Comment posted by Lucy VanSwearingen on January 16, 2013 at 3:15 PM

congrats on the WP. What a dramatic image!

Registered on May 23, 2009, 800 Posts, 2042 Comments

Comment posted by Ken Smith on January 16, 2013 at 5:31 PM

Sandy, congrats on the photo and the recognition for WP. I share your comment on, "kicking myself". Occasionally, I cut corners and do not expend the effort to set up with the tripod or change out to a better lens and filter. Worse is going through that effort then thinking my dof selection is air-tight...only to realize that another f stop would work. ...arrggghh.... That is why we love photography....there is always room for improvement...

Registered on September 5, 2008, 449 Posts, 2444 Comments

Comment posted by Albert Darmo on January 23, 2013 at 3:26 PM

Hi Sandy

Congrats on the EP, and keeping us aware of the multitude of environmental problems damaging our planet

Albert Darmo

Registered on November 25, 2008, 1386 Posts, 11978 Comments

Comment posted by SandyRichardsBrown on December 14, 2013 at 3:36 AM