News – Over 300 miles north of the Arctic Circle, in the polar dark of a December morning, University of Manitoba Ph.D. student Jesse Carrie is out on the frozen Beaufort Sea, collecting ice samples to measure for mercury and pesticides. Lowered by crane from the deck of the icebreaking research vessel the CCGS Amundsen, and accompanied by a rifle bearer who keeps watch for polar bears, Carrie extracts ice cores and vials of frigid water.
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This is already damaging marine life in my region. Off the Coast of Washington state, and in Puget Sound especially, our whales have the highest mercury and PBDE levels of anything living on the planet. Just last year we had our first ever health warning put out for fish caught in Puget sound due to mercury. And the scary part is, we don't even have any coal mines or coal fired power plants. The closest Coal mine, or power plant is like 3 states away from us. So its some other regions pollution drifting in and screwing with our state...
There may not be any coal mines in the state today, but Washington has produced considerable coal in the past. In fact, deep mining was carried out there until 1975, and the last open pit closed just two years ago--so the state definitely HAS contributed to its own pollution. The town of Roslyn, a tourist attraction where the TV series "Northern Exposure" was taped, even advertises a "Coal Mines Trail" for bikers.
Washington is one of several states which have passed laws restricting construction of NEW power plants in accordance with tight emission standards that almost entirely eliminate new coal-fired electrical generation. An Energy Northwest application for a plant in Cowlitz County was recently rejected, but United Power of Gig Harbor is still pushing an application for a proposed plant in Walla Walla County. But several older coal-fired plants continue to operate in the state.
Almost all coal use stopped in the 1940's when the Grand Coulee damn was built. Which is the largest electricity producer in the entire country(just shy of 7,000MW). And costs a lot less per KW than coal ever will, which is why coal lost its edge here so quickly.
Though it does look like you are right, we do have a single coal power plant in Centralia owned by Transalta. It is the only one though according to the DOE. And even then, it's not very large of a polluter. In fact, its not even a full blown coal power plant. It has two coal-fired units, four natural gas and one steam combined-cycle unit and one hydro unit. And is certified as the cleanest Coal plant in all of north america(according to transalta at least)
Either way, the massive downward trend in coal use, shows that the massive upward trend in mercury pollution is for the most part, coming from foreign sources.