Biden EPA revives justification for coal utility mercury rule

The Environmental Protection Agency a proposed rule restoring the legal foundation for limiting coal-fired power plants’ mercury emissions under the Clean Air Act, a finding the Trump administration sought to axe.

The rule reinstates the agency’s finding that it is “appropriate and necessary” for EPA to regulate power plant emissions using authority established in the 1990 amendments to the landmark air law. The Obama EPA in 2011 finalized the Mercury and Air Toxics Standards, or MATS, rule which is credited with dramatically reducing mercury and other emissions from coal-fired utilities.

“This decision returns sanity and science to EPA’s efforts protecting children and other vulnerable populations from extremely dangerous pollution like mercury,” said EWG President Ken Cook.

“Although reversing the insidious anti-health policies of the former Trump administration should be celebrated, it’s a stark reminder of what happens when critical environmental safeguards are eviscerated and scientific consensus is rejected just to placate the coal industry,” Cook said.

The MATS rule required electric utilities that burn coal and oil to install technologies to cut emissions of mercury and other heavy metal air pollutants, including arsenic.

Utilities estimated the cost of the pollution-trapping equipment at around $18 billion. But it was money well spent: The rule had an almost immediate impact on air quality, with a  70 percent drop in mercury emissions from coal-fired power plants. The EPA estimated the health benefits of the rule from $37 billion to $90 billion every year.

The states that saw the most significant decreases in mercury emissions because of the Obama rule include those that rely heavily on electricity generated from coal-fired power plants: Indiana, Ohio, Michigan, Missouri, and Pennsylvania.

The Trump administration in 2020 scrapped the appropriate and necessary finding, and the Biden EPA’s rule starts the process of reversing that decision. The Trump EPA did not scrap the MATS rule itself, but observers had feared that revoking the appropriate and necessary finding was a prelude to an attempt to undo the entire emissions rule.

#Biden EPA #revives justification #coal utility

MediaTek’s highly integrated 7nm T750 chipset delivers 5G broadband experiences in a compact, low-power form factor

 MediaTek and NEC Platforms, Ltd. today announced the first NEC 5G customer-premise equipment (CPE) and mobile Wi-Fi (Mi-Fi) products powered by MediaTek’s T750 5G chipset. This is the first time that MediaTek and NEC Platforms have collaborated on CPE products. These products provide 5G speeds right out of the box and are an affordable broadband alternative to areas with limited DSL, cable, or fiber services, bringing super-fast connectivity to all areas including suburban, rural, and high-density locations.

The new Mi-Fi product, “Speed Wi-Fi 5G X11,” will be launched in October 2021, followed by the CPE product, “Speed Wi-Fi HOME 5G L12,” coming in November 2021, distributed by KDDI Corporation, Okinawa Cellular Telephone Corporation, and UQ Communications Inc.

These new 5G Mi-Fi and CPE products will be also added as a part of the new 5G devices for NEC Platforms’ Aterm product portfolio, and the full portfolio will be launched in the Japanese market in 2022. NEC Platforms has shipped its Aterm’s successful product line with a total of 35 million mobile and home routers to date and will provide consistent support for the development, manufacturing, and maintenance of its 5G data communications equipment in Japan with its high quality and reliable solutions.

“MediaTek’s broad portfolio of 5G solutions is bringing incredible 5G experiences to smartphones, laptops, CPE, Mi-Fi devices, and beyond,” said Martin Lin, Deputy General Manager of Wireless Communications Business Unit at MediaTek.

“With our first collaboration with NEC Platforms in the CPE segment, we are continuing our commitment to bring everyone fast and reliable 5G connectivity. We look forward to further expanding our footprint in the Japanese market and helping to accelerate the rollout of 5G in the region.”

“We believe that combining MediaTek’s connectivity technology and NEC Platforms’ broadband expertise will help make 5G more accessible to consumers across Japan,” said Kanji Shuke, Executive Vice President at NEC Platforms. “The Aterm series has already been well received by many customers for its stable and reliable connectivity, and we will continue to strive to create products that exceed consumers’ expectations.”

MediaTek’s T750 5G chipset is a highly integrated, 7nm compact chip design with support for sub-6GHz frequencies and two-component carrier aggregation (2CC CA) for extended coverage. The T750 design integrates a 5G NR FR1 modem, quad-core Arm Cortex-A55 processors, and the required peripherals all on a single chip.

This enabled NEC Platforms to build high-performance CPE devices that are compact and easy for consumers to self-install. The T750 chipset comes pre-integrated with software drivers for MediaTek’s connectivity solutions such as our 4×4 and 2×2 + 2×2 dual-band Wi-Fi 6 chipsets. The chipset also integrates MediaTek’s 5G UltraSave technologies for ultra-power-efficiency.

For operators, the T750 provides 5G speeds up to an impressive 4.7Gbps right out the box, rivaling or exceeding fixed-line services; using already installed cellular infrastructure, operators can avoid the costs of laying down cables or fiber. For original design manufacturers (ODMs) and original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), the T750 reduces development times and costs, providing significant time-to-market advantages.

Additionally, consumers can self-install the compact 5G CPE devices powered by the T750, avoiding the hassles of lengthy installation times. Consumers also have the flexibility to place 5G CPE devices anywhere on their property, instead of being limited to being within reach of a phone or fiber line.

MediaTek’s extensive 5G portfolio makes 5G connectivity more accessible by powering a range of devices – from the high-end to the mid-tier – so consumers can unlock the possibilities that 5G brings with ultra-fast and reliable connectivity.

NEC Platforms’ CPE and Mi-Fi products powered by MediaTek are expected to reach the Japanese consumer market starting in October 2021. 

 https://www.mediatek.com/products/cellularBroadband/mediatek-t7

#MediaTek #Mobile wi-fi product #T750 5G chipset 

Biden EPA revives justification for coal utility mercury rule

The Environmental Protection Agency a proposed rule restoring the legal foundation for limiting coal-fired power plants’ mercury emissions under the Clean Air Act, a finding the Trump administration sought to axe.

The rule reinstates the agency’s finding that it is “appropriate and necessary” for EPA to regulate power plant emissions using authority established in the 1990 amendments to the landmark air law. The Obama EPA in 2011 finalized the Mercury and Air Toxics Standards, or MATS, rule which is credited with dramatically reducing mercury and other emissions from coal-fired utilities.

“This decision returns sanity and science to EPA’s efforts protecting children and other vulnerable populations from extremely dangerous pollution like mercury,” said EWG President Ken Cook.

“Although reversing the insidious anti-health policies of the former Trump administration should be celebrated, it’s a stark reminder of what happens when critical environmental safeguards are eviscerated and scientific consensus is rejected just to placate the coal industry,” Cook said.

The MATS rule required electric utilities that burn coal and oil to install technologies to cut emissions of mercury and other heavy metal air pollutants, including arsenic.

Utilities estimated the cost of the pollution-trapping equipment at around $18 billion. But it was money well spent: The rule had an almost immediate impact on air quality, with a  70 percent drop in mercury emissions from coal-fired power plants. The EPA estimated the health benefits of the rule from $37 billion to $90 billion every year.

The states that saw the most significant decreases in mercury emissions because of the Obama rule include those that rely heavily on electricity generated from coal-fired power plants: Indiana, Ohio, Michigan, Missouri, and Pennsylvania.

The Trump administration in 2020 scrapped the appropriate and necessary finding, and the Biden EPA’s rule starts the process of reversing that decision. The Trump EPA did not scrap the MATS rule itself, but observers had feared that revoking the appropriate and necessary finding was a prelude to an attempt to undo the entire emissions rule.

#Biden EPA #revives justification #coal utility

USGS detects forever chemicals in 16 states water wells

The U.S. Geological Survey has detected the toxic “ forever chemicals ” known as PFAS in public and private drinking water wells in 16 Eastern states.

USGS announced the findings in a new study designed to assess the contamination of five aquifers that are important sources of drinking water. PFAS were detected in public and private drinking water wells in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Maine, Mississippi, New Hampshire, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, and West Virginia.

The study detected 14 different PFAS, and most frequently found PFOA, PFOS, and PFBS, some of the most notorious and well-studied PFAS.

USGS took 254 samples and found PFAS in 60 percent of wells serving public water systems. It found PFAS in 20 percent of wells serving individual households. Water was most likely to be contaminated with PFAS if the aquifer was newly filled, the well was near a fire training site or urban area, or had increased organic material.

At least one type of PFAS was detected in 54 percent of the samples, and two or more PFAS were found in 47 percent of the samples.

In addition to PFOA and PFOS, the most common PFAS detected include PFBS, PFHxS, PFHpA, PFNA, PFBA, PFPeA, and PFHxA.

“It’s very troubling that PFAS were detected so frequently,” said Scott Faber , EWG’s senior vice president for government affairs.

The highest detection collected was 1,500 parts per trillion, or ppt, of PFOA, found in community water well in West Virginia.

PFAS  are found in the blood of virtually everyone,  including newborn babies. Very low doses of PFAS have been linked to the suppression of the immune system and are associated with an elevated risk of cancer, increased cholesterol, reproductive harm, and other health concerns.

Thousands of communities have already detected these toxic forever chemicals in their water, and PFAS have been confirmed at nearly  400  military installations.  EWG  estimates that more than 200 million Americans are drinking water contaminated with PFAS.

“No one should have to worry about toxic forever chemicals in their tap water,” said Faber. The Environmental Protection Agency has known of the risks to communities posed by PFAS since at least 1998 but has failed to act .

The Biden EPA’s PFAS “ roadmap proposes to set a drinking water standard for PFOA and PFOS by 2023 and take steps to restrict industrial releases of PFAS into the air and water.

The USGS should help with identifying private wells that are contaminated with PFAS, but more needs to be done. “A drinking water standard will not address the PFAS in private wells,” Faber said. “It’s very troubling that 20 percent of private wells that were sampled contained PFAS. Millions of people living in rural households could be drinking contaminated tap water.”

#USGS #PFAS #16states #foreverchemical

Myanmar to accept Thai baht for border trade, eyes using rupee

Myanmar will start accepting the Thai baht currency for settling border trade transactions and is also looking at a similar plan to use the Indian rupee for such trade, the ministries of information and investment said on Tuesday.

Myanmar’s military-controlled government has already said it would also accept China’s renminbi as an official settlement currency.

“By reducing dependence on the U.S. dollar, we will mitigate the risk of sudden exchange rate swings due to external geopolitical factors,” the ministries said in a statement, adding the move would help reduce inflation caused by the appreciation of the dollar.

The arrangements would also help support economic recovery, the statement said, adding that – even with rising energy prices – Myanmar should record “modest” gross domestic product growth in the fiscal year ending October 2022.

Myanmar’s economy has slumped since the army overthrew an elected government a year ago and launched a bloody crackdown on opponents, with a struggle to impose order amid widespread civil unrest and armed resistance from pro-democracy militias and ethnic minority rebels.

Last year, the Central Bank of Myanmar briefly tried tethering the kyat currency to a reference rate against the dollar after a slump in the exchange rate.

The statement accused opponents of trying to trigger distrust in the banking and financial system and said a weaker kyat last year was “stoked by economic sabotage”.

Registered merchants along the Thai border with Myanmar could from this month conduct trade based on the kyat-baht exchange rate announced daily by Myanmar’s central bank, said the statement.

Thai deputy spokeswoman Ratchada Thanadirek said the government was not involved in the arrangements but said “usage of baht-kyat is something that two sides have been discussing… and matched demand from the Thai private sector.”

However, Sobkasem Ngaemngam of the Tak province chapter of the Federation of Thai Industry, said the move was unlikely to change much since businesses on both sides of the border had been using baht in trade for decades. Tak province borders Myanmar.

Indian authorities did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Thailand is Myanmar’s second-biggest trading partner behind China. Trade in the 2020-2021 fiscal year was worth $5.3 billion, the statement said.

Myanmar’s main exports included gas, metals, pulses, and garments, it said, adding the country mainly imported machinery, transport equipment, and manufactured goods from Thailand.

#Myanmar  #accept Thai baht #border trade

Myanmar’s sea trade surges in interim budget period

Myanmar’s maritime trade increased by over US$770.2 million in the first four months of the interim budget period, compared to the same period of the last fiscal year of 2020-2021, according to the Ministry of Commerce.

The sea-route foreign trade amounted to over US$8.7 billion as of Feb. 11 in the six-month interim budget period which started in October last year.

The South-East Asian country announced changing its fiscal year from the original October-September to April-March beginning 2022-2023, producing a six-month interim budget period from October last year to March this year.

From Oct. 1 last year to Feb. 11 this year, the country’s maritime foreign export saw an increase of more than US$671.8 million while its maritime import saw an increase of over US$98.4 million.

Sea-route export of the country amounted to over US$3.9 billion while its sea-route import totaled over US$4.8 billion during the interim budget period.

About 80 percent of the country’s trade with foreign countries is usually done through sea route as the country boasts a long coastline. Its border trade is conducted with neighboring China, Thailand, Bangladesh, and India.

Despite the sea trade surge, the border trade dropped more than US$2.01 billion in the interim budget period from a year earlier.

The country’s border trade totaled over US$2.4 billion in the interim budget period. Border trade in the same period of last fiscal year amounted to over 4.4 billion U.S. dollars. Myanmar, which is a member of the World Trade Organization (WTO) and one of the 15 signatories of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), has been experiencing social and economic problems because of the Covid-19 pandemic and political crisis.

The country’s total foreign trade in the interim budget period declined more than US$1.2 billion compared to the same period of a year earlier when its trade value totaled more than 12.4 billion U.S. dollars.

The South-East Asian country earned more than half of its total foreign revenues from the export of manufacturing goods, which brought in over 3.2 billion U.S. dollars during that period.

The county’s sales of export goods brought in more than US$5.7 billion of foreign revenues in the interim budget period.

Myanmar’s commerce ministry has set a target of US$17 billion for total foreign trade in the six-month interim budget period, an official of the ministry told Xinhua last year.  The country’s total foreign trade in over four months of the six-month interim budget period has now exceeded US$11 billion, the ministry’s data showed. Therefore, the country will need another nearly US$6 billion foreign trade value in the next nearly two months to meet its target.

The country exports agricultural products, animal products, fisheries, minerals, forest products, manufacturing goods, and others to foreign countries while capital goods, intermediate goods, and consumer goods are imported into the country.

#Myanmar’s #seatrade #interim budget period