 Worst Polluters
Get Dirtier by Erin Kelly WASHINGTON -- Most of the nation's 500 worst polluting power plants are getting dirtier, says a report released Thursday by environmental groups. "If you live near an old, coal-fired power plant, odds are you are being exposed to increasing levels of power plant pollution," said report author Rebecca Stanfield of the U.S. Public Interest Research Group. Stanfield, whose report was funded by the Pew Charitable Trusts, based her findings on data from the Environmental Protection Agency showing levels of smog, soot and global warming emissions from power plants from 1995 through 2000. Utah's Intermountain Power Plant near Delta had one of the nation's largest increases in smog emissions, according to the report. The report was released as the Bush administration is considering changes in the Clean Air Act that environmentalists fear could gut protections. The administration has said it is trying to come up with a plan that will provide incentives for utilities to clean up their plants. Global warming pollution from the 500 dirtiest plants increased 8 percent during the six-year period, releasing 175 million more tons of carbon dioxide into the air, the report says. United Nations scientists predict that by the end of this century global warming could lead to massive flooding in coastal areas, intense heat waves and tropical storms, and drought. The 12 states with the biggest net increases in carbon dioxide emissions were: Texas, Minnesota, Indiana, Alabama, Arizona, South Carolina, North Carolina, Illinois, Virginia, California, West Virginia and Georgia. There is no federal law limiting global warming emissions. President Bush reneged last year on a campaign promise to support such a law, saying he was worried it would force coal-fired plants out of business and spark an energy crisis. A majority of the 500 dirtiest plants also increased their smog and soot emissions, the report said. However, the overall levels of those pollutants dropped as some plants decreased their emissions. Those reductions are a positive development that the report downplays, said a spokesman for the Edison Electric Institute, which represents utility companies. "The nation's air quality is steadily improving, and power plant emissions continue to decrease, facts this report goes to great lengths to hide," said institute spokesman Dan Riedinger. He said the report ignores the fact that between 1994 and 1995 nitrogen oxide emissions dropped by 3 million tons when a federal program to reduce acid rain took effect. The report also does not take into account the fact that smog and soot emissions are bound to drop further by 2010 as power plants work to meet tougher clean air standards under current law, Riedinger said. Soot -- which can exacerbate heart and lung problems and cause premature death -- dropped about 5 percent nationwide despite the fact that 300 of the 500 dirtiest plants increased their sulfur dioxide emissions, the report says. Plants with the biggest increases in soot emissions were in Alabama, Indiana and Ohio. Smog -- which damages lungs and can trigger asthma attacks -- also decreased by about 1 million tons a year. Still, 263 of the 500 worst plants increased their nitrogen oxide pollution. The top five plants with the biggest smog increases were in Mississippi, Alabama, Utah, Texas and Georgia. The states with the biggest smog increases were Arizona, Mississippi, Louisiana and Georgia. Source: http://www.sltrib.com/04052002/nation_w/725657.htm
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