NURSING ANM AND GNM

Detailed explanation-1: -Mercury: Coal plants are responsible for 42 percent of US mercury emissions, a toxic heavy metal that can damage the nervous, digestive, and immune systems, and is a serious threat to the child development.

Detailed explanation-2: -The main primary anthropogenic sources of atmospheric mercury are coal burning, mining for various metals, and industrial activities that process ores or produce cement. In most of these activities, mercury is released as a (by-product) pollutant.

Detailed explanation-3: -Mercury is emitted in the combustion process of coal and other fossil fuels. Coal has much higher mercury concentrations than other fossil fuels, which explains why coal-fired power plants often emit larger quantities of mercury pollution than do power plants that burn other fossil fuels.

Detailed explanation-4: -Issue. Having more than tripled since 1970, burning of coal is, after artisanal and small-scale gold mining, the largest single anthropogenic source of mercury air emissions, with 21% of the global emissions estimated at approximately 2220 tonnes per year.

Detailed explanation-5: -It is the only metal that is liquid at room temperature, and when heated just to a moderate level, will evaporate into mercury vapor. Thus, when coal is burned in a power plant, the mercury that is present in it is released through the smokestacks as a gas and dilutes as it travels.