Members of the Portland Cement Association (PCA), lobbying on behalf of the cement industry as a whole, are pushing the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to not add new regulations limiting the amount of mercury and other pollutants emitted from cement plants. Their argument is based on the subsequent rise in production costs which would seriously hamper the government-funded stimulus projects, as construction companies would be forced to purchase cement from overseas producers.
The PCA hired the Southern Methodist University’s Maguire Energy Institute to conduct a study of the effects of the new regulations on the cement industry. The study concluded that over the next several years approximately fifteen thousand jobs would be lost if these regulations are put into effect. Also, the Institute judged that the number of jobs created by existing and soon to come stimulus packages would be decreased by forty percent. These figures agree with the EPA’s findings that cement industry employment would fall by eight percent under the new regulations.
Environmentalist groups claim that these arguments are just attempts to delay pollutant limits designated by the Clean Air Act. They focus their attention on Texas, the state home to the most cement kilns at twenty-two. One of their main concerns is about the mercury resulting from the use of limestone. In the atmosphere, the mercury quickly settles into water systems where fish and other marine life can absorb it. This is then transferred to humans upon consumption of the seafood. Environmentalists are seeking to reduce this exposure through the new pollution controls being considered by the EPA as requirements for the industry.
A compromise is what is truly needed in this situation. An agreement must be found that will allow continued job growth while also reducing the impact on the environment. The final ruling on the matter is set for June 30. Let us hope that the Obama administration can find a healthy balance between both sides of the argument.