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Issue link: https://coal.epubxp.com/i/123548
transport tips continued ask another question: If EPA actions forced U.S. utilities to switch to Powder River Basin coal because of its clean qualities, why are the environmentalists now objecting to the Chinese burning clean PRB coal? Wouldn't this greatly improve the quality of the stack gases coming out of the Chinese power plants? A detailed analysis of power plants in China by MIT researchers debunks the widespread notion that outmoded energy technology or the utter absence of government regulation is to blame for China's notorious air-pollution problems. (http://web.mit.edu/ipc/publications/pdf/08-003.pdf) The MIT findings suggest emissions levels from Chinese power plants, "depend almost entirely on the quality of the coal they use," researcher Steinfeld said. "When they're hit by price spikes, they buy low-grade coal." Lower-grade coal, which produces high levels of sulfur emissions, can be obtained locally, whereas the highest-grade anthracite comes mostly from China's northwest and must travel long distances to the plants, adding greatly to its cost. Contrary to what many outsiders believe, April 2013 the Chinese state has substantially improved its ability to implement and enforce rules on technology standards. It has been slower, however, to develop such abilities for monitoring the day-today operations of energy producers. Coal Dust from BNSF Trains Would Soil Seattle's Pike Street Market: BNSF has three routes that lead from Spokane to Whatcom County, and would much rather take the one that avoids Seattle. The route most likely to be taken would be the one that leaves Spokane and travels directly westward across Lincoln, Grant, Chelan and Snohomish counties to Everett, where it turns and heads straight north. This route is north of Seattle, and avoids it altogether. People who fear coal dust must be unaware of BNSF Tariff 6041-B, which requires shippers to spray surfactant on coal after loading. They must also be unaware that Peabody has publicly committed to spraying its coal with surfactant. Most coal unit trains travel under contracts between the railroad and the coal buyers (electric utilities). These trains will be different. They will move under contracts between railroads and coal produc- ers, or not at all. Coal producers will have to accept all of the provisions of the coal tariff, including the requirement to spray the coal with surfactant. If the surfactant does not do an adequate job, there are several types of covers that can be installed on the rail cars. Endless Coal Trains Would Clog the Roads & Highways: Some opponents have suggested that up to 130 million tons per year would be shipped through Cherry Point, requiring endless numbers of coal trains that would clog highway crossings. Selling into the Pacific Rim market LAXT was never able to reach a level of 10 million tons; Westshore has never exported more than 8.2 million tons of U.S. coal. Case closed. Gambrel is the former director of transportation for Peabody Energy Co., and was the company's negotiator for the LAXT terminal in the Port of Los Angeles. He received his graduate education at the University of Washington and at Seattle University. He served as Peabody's representative on the management committee of Dominion Terminal for 10 years, and managed the company's ship chartering program. He can be reached at bunkgambrel@earthlink.net. www.coalage.com 25