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Elements in Fossil Fuels

Fossil fuels such as coal and natural gas contain metallic elements that spew into the atmosphere during the combustion processes. Over 100 tons of germanium alone discharges from coal-burning plant stacks worldwide every year. Metallic elements in soil, water and food build up and greatly increase health risks. Some metallic elements, when inhaled or ingested, are deadly poisons.

  1. Toxicity

    • Carcinogenic and mutagenic substances such as sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides and carbon dioxide, along with mercury and selenium, are among the 50-to-80 known elements found in coal, crude oil and fuel oil, and about 20 metallic elements are in gasoline. Extremely toxic mercury and selenium are metallic or metal-like elements that emit in gaseous discharges in measurable concentrations, according to the National Institute of Environmental Health Science.

    Radioactive Elements in Coal

    • Coal is dirty, containing impurities of metals including aluminum, iron and sulfur. The burning of coal emits measurable quantities of uranium and thorium, both radioactive metallic elements. According to Alex Gabbard, an Oak Ridge National Laboratory researcher, claims previous colleges from ORNL determined that people living near coal plants in 1978 received larger doses of radiation than those living near nuclear power plants.

    Inorganic Elements

    • Some of the trace minerals emitted during the combustion process of fossil fuels are mercury, arsenic, nickel and chromium. Mercury emissions from coal-burning plants are of major concern due to its high level of toxicity. Mercury emissions in the U.S. between 1994 and 1995 were an estimated 159 tons. Concerns with burning petroleum-derived fuels include arsenic, chromium, nickel and vanadium dispersions. Chromium and nickel are highly carcinogenic. Other inorganic elements in coal include species groups of quartz, shale, kaolin, sulphide, carbonate and chloride.

    Clear Skies Initiative

    • An estimated 5,500 tons of mercury were emitted globally in 1995. Since 1995, mercury emissions began to fall; this was largely due to a reduction in the use of mercury. The Clear Skies Initiative, announced by the Bush Administration in 2002, called for a further reduction in mercury emissions during a two-phase plan. This plan required a 45 percent reduction beginning in 2010 and a 70 percent reduction to begin in 2018. According to the U.S. Department of Energy, this plan is the first of its kind in the world. Although this plan helps to further reduce mercury, it does little to reduce carbon dioxide, the leading cause of greenhouse gas emissions.

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