Coal-fired power plants imperil health, study says

Apr 8 - McClatchy-Tribune Regional News - Don Hopey Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

As Congress considers whether to block rules limiting air pollutants, a new report finds that Pennsylvania's coal-fired power plants emit more smog-producing pollution than any state except Texas.

The report by PennEnvironment, a statewide environmental group, also notes that according to the latest available EPA Air Quality Index data for metropolitan areas in 2008, the Pittsburgh region had 34 days when air quality was unhealthy for "sensitive groups" -- including people with lung disease, older adults and children.

On one day that year, the air quality was bad enough to fall into the unhealthy for everyone category.

Seven metropolitan areas, all in California, had more days when air was unhealthy for sensitive groups. In Pennsylvania, Philadelphia had 26 days when the air was unhealthy for sensitive groups and four days when it was unhealthy for everyone.

"Taking a breath should not leave Pennsylvania's children gasping for air," said Matthew Ward, of PennEnvironment. "Smog-forming pollution from power plants puts our children and our environment at risk, and the EPA must act to reduce this life-threatening pollution."

The release of the report coincided with congressional action on legislation aimed at limiting the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's ability to regulate emissions of carbon dioxide, a potent greenhouse gas that contributes to global warming.

PennEnvironment is urging U.S. Sen. Bob Casey, D-Pa., to oppose attempts to weaken the science and health-based regulations and enforcement powers of the EPA. Mr. Casey on Wednesday voted in favor of an amendment attached to a small business bill that would have blocked the EPA's ability to limit carbon dioxide emissions for two years, but the measure did not receive the 60 votes it needed to overcome a filibuster.

The report found that in 2009 Pennsylvania's 47 power plants emitted almost 110,000 tons of nitrogen oxides, which mixes with other pollutants in the air on warm sunny days to form ground-level ozone, the primary component of unhealthy smog.

Randy Francisco, the Sierra Club's organizing representative for its Coal to Clean Energy Campaign in Pennsylvania, said old, dirty power plants in Pennsylvania are damaging the health of people in the state.

"The report points out the importance of EPA regulation and why we need it to act," Mr. Francisco said. "The companies are not going to clean up themselves."

Don Hopey: dhopey@post-gazette.com or 412-263-1983.