Over 3.3 tons mercury have been released in the period 2010 – 2013 in Bulgaria, of which 1/3 comes from thermal power stations and domestic heating. Coal plants are a major source of mercury in the environment. The accumulation of mercury in the environment puts at risk not only human health but also the environment. Despite its seriousness the problem remains hidden to the public.
Greenpeace Bulgaria’s analysis shows that the percentage share of the three main polluting sources – domestic heating, thermal and industrial combustion has increased, although the total amount of mercury emissions in Bulgaria has decreased over the past few years. This is a worrying trend given the serious health damage that exposure to mercury causes. Babies, children and women of childbearing age are most vulnerable. Body systems strongly affected by the toxic effects of mercury are the nervous, immune, reproductive and the respiratory, while body organs at risk are the brain, heart, kidneys, and the thyroid gland.
Burning coal in power plants and domestic heating leads to release of mercury into the air, water and soil. Once in the ecosystem, it accumulates and stays there for long.
While there are regulated limit values for the emissions of other harmful substances released during coal burning (fine particulate matter, SOx, NOx), there are none for mercury. Both in the European and Bulgarian legislation, the amount of mercury and its compounds in the air is not regulated, i.e. there are no limit values.
Theodora Stoyanova, coordinator of the campaign “Climate and energy” organized by Greenpeace Bulgaria, commented:
“We believe that the mercury issue deserves the attention of both the Bulgarian citizens and the responsible state and local institutions. It is necessary to introduce strict limit values for mercury emissions in thermal power plants. This will reduce human exposure to its harmful effects.”
In its report Greenpeace Bulgaria draws attentions to the damage the coal sector causes to the soil in the country. About 30,000 hectares land have been damaged in Bulgaria over the last decades as a result of coal mining, which amounts to 0.03% of the total territory of the country. The process of land reclamation and restoration is slow and the results are unsatisfactory. The ratio of damaged to restored area is 3:1. This leads to high demand for appropriation of land from agricultural, forest and settlement funds and destroys the land balance between the different funds.
Theodora Stoyanova added:
“The slow land restoration, low control over the reclamation instalments and the lack of transparency in the use and maintenance of storage embankments for waste from thermal power plants, all these are open questions waiting for answers.”
Therefore the organization calls for:
• Legislative and regulatory changes to define limit values for concentration of mercury in the air and compliance monitoring;
• Systematic and regular soil tests to ensure quality and level of contamination;
• Promotion of energy efficienct measures and introducing small (up to 30 kV) wind power installations for households, small businesses and municipalities, which reduce the need for coal power plants.
Additional details on the damage caused by mercury and the coal sector to the soil can be found in “Buried secrets of coal” report on Greenpeace Bulgaria’s website.