The primary nitrogen, sulfur, airborne particulate, and fly ash (solid waste) pollutants were all well controlled 30-40 years ago. Small improvements were made afterward, but it was a declining benefit at at ever increasing high cost (”diminishing returns”).
So, always needing something to meddle in, the EPA turned its attention to mercury emissions from coal plants and that’s been a sticking point for 30 years. It is very hard and expensive to capture mercury emissions. Imminent mercury regulations have been on the table a long time and that threat has accelerated the shutdown of older plants (along with poor efficiency of old plants).
For a long time, natural gas / combined cycle plants with efficiencies in the 60% range were the solution — no emissions except CO2 and water vapor plus very high efficiency.
But we all know the greeniacs have turned their attention to CO2 and started calling it a “pollutant.” It’s the old Hitler/Goebbels playbook — tell the big lie long enough, hard enough, and frequently enough and people believe it.
Many thanks for your detailed reply! Yeah, I have heard gripes about mercury emissions. Mercury is a poison that can pollute waterways and the fish in them. Mercury gets into the food chain.
How serious are mercury emissions from burning coal in large power plant? I don’t know.
Notice how mercury is way down the list of harmful emissions from coal powered plants>>>>
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Emissions from burning coal
Several principal emissions result from coal combustion:
Sulfur dioxide (SO2), which contributes to acid rain and respiratory illnesses
Nitrogen oxides (NOx), which contribute to smog and respiratory illnesses
Particulates, which contribute to smog, haze, and respiratory illnesses and lung disease
Carbon dioxide (CO2), which is the primary greenhouse gas produced from burning fossil fuels (coal, oil, and natural gas)
Mercury and other heavy metals, which have been linked to both neurological and developmental damage in humans and other animals
Fly ash and bottom ash, which are residues created when power plants burn coal
https://www.eia.gov/energyexplained/coal/coal-and-the-environment.php
>fly ash (solid waste)
Use in concrete formulations.