Virginia ranks 8th in U.S. for deaths, health impacts from dirty power plants

Charlottesville - Pollution from power plants contributes to some 1,000 premature deaths, 1,400 heart attacks, and 24,000 asthma attacks among Virginians each year, according to a new study released today based on federal health data. According to the new Clear the Air report, entitled Dirty Air, Dirty Power, Virginia ranks 8th in the nation for the greatest public health impact from power plant pollution.

Among the report's other findings:

Power plant pollution is linked to 140,620 lost work days in Virginia and 1,094 emergency room visits due to severe asthma attacks

1,256,936 children in Virginia live within 30 miles of a power plant. Pound for pound, children breathe 50% more air than adults and are much more susceptible to air toxins.

Harrisonburg, Bristol (TN) and Blacksburg rank 8, 11 and 16 respectively for power plant pollution mortality per capita in the nation.

Nationally, power plant pollution causes 38,200 heart attacks and 23,600 premature deaths each year, which exceeds the annual death toll from drunk driving (17,000) or homicides (20,000).

"The Bush Administration knows how to solve this problem, but instead of working toward cleaner, healthier air, they are allowing the polluters to rewrite the rules, weaken current law, and pass it off as progress," said Angela Ledford, director of Clear the Air, a national coalition of environmental and public health groups which released the study.

Also today, the group launched an interactive web site that allows citizens to see how local power plants affect their health. The report and web site compare the premature deaths that would result under the Bush Administration's air pollution plan, the existing Clean Air Act, and a bipartisan proposal sponsored by Senator Jim Jeffords to strengthen the Clean Air Act.

"This report is more than just numbers. It brings into sharp focus the need to clean up these outdated power plants. People's lives are at stake," said Jeff Gleason, director of SELC's Clean Air Project. "If ever there was a time to stand up and demand action, it is now."

Dirty Air, Dirty Power is based on an analysis by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) own air quality consultants using standard EPA methodology. The related interactive web site, www.cleartheair.org/dirtypower, provides emissions and health effects data by individual power plant, city, and state. In addition, it allows users to see how much smog, soot, global warming pollution and toxic mercury is being emitted in their state and by each power plant. According to the web site, in 2002 Virginia's power plants emitted 1,484 pounds of mercury, a potent neurotoxin that can cause learning disabilities, developmental delays, and problems with fine motor coordination in children.

Requiring the nation's aging fleet of power plants to use modern pollution controls would prevent the vast majority of the health effects from power plant pollution. According to the report, the Administration's proposal would allow 4,000 preventable premature deaths each year compared with simply enforcing current law, while repealing the safeguards that could save those lives.

Abt Associates, the consultant EPA uses for its air quality analyses, performed the analyses for this report using standard EPA methodology.