Years of work by the MaryPIRG Foundation and others to address pollution from a Baltimore incinerator are beginning to pay off. In a settlement with the Maryland Department of the Environment, Curtis Bay Energy, formerly known as Phoenix Services, has agreed to install pollution control equipment to reduce its emissions of mercury.

Since many devices used in hospitals contain mercury, incinerating hospital waste can release large quantities of the toxic substance into the air. The Phoenix incinerator is the largest medical waste incinerator in the country, accounting for 6 percent of all mercury emissions in Maryland before controls were installed.

After lengthy negotiations accompanied by intense scrutiny by the community, the owners of the plant agreed to install state-of-the-art mercury controls, invest in experimental mercury reduction technology, and monitor emissions continuously. Mercury emissions are expected to decrease by at least 90 percent.

The MaryPIRG Foundation has been involved in the effort to clean up Phoenix since 1999. Negotiations continue over other aspects of the plant’s operations.