The Health Risks of Burning Coal for Energy

TXU's planned coal-fired plants would foul the air for thousands

Posted: 05-Sep-2006; Updated: 27-Dec-2006

The Health Risks of Burning Coal for Energy

Hundreds of thousands of Americans suffer asthma attacks linked to fine particle pollution (soot) from power plants.

TXU’s 11 proposed plants jeopardize the health of thousands of Texans. While the company claims that large cuts of toxic emissions at their existing facilities will offset some of the new plants' pollution, TXU has failed to address the health effects of worsening air quality on local communities and the dangers of a huge increase in global warming pollution.

Pollution "hot spots" pose significant health threats. People who live in metropolitan areas near coal-fired plants are acutely affected. In these areas, death rates are much higher than in areas with few or no coal-fired plants. Of particular concern is the Dallas-Ft. Worth area, which suffers from some of the dirtiest air in the country and may be severely affected by the proposed power plants.

What do coal plants spew that could harm our health and the planet?

Nitrogen oxides (NOx). Nitrogen oxide plays a major role in the formation of ground-level ozone (or smog) in summer and contributes to fine particulate matter (or soot). Both smog and soot are linked to a host of serious health effects (see below). Nitrogen oxide also harms the environment, contributing to acidification of lakes and streams (acid rain) and the haze that often shrouds our national parks and scenic vistas.

Learn more: Threats of nitrogen oxide | How smog and soot affect heath

Mercury (HG). Mercury can cause severe nervous system problems in humans and wildlife. Especially vulnerable are developing fetuses, babies and children. Eating fish is one of the primary ways people ingest mercury, which accumulates in the tissues of fish and other animals. Texas is home to five of the nation's top 10 mercury emitting power plants.

Learn more: How mercury emissions from industrial sources threaten health

Sulfur dioxide (SO₂). Sulfur dioxide contributes to the formation of microscopic particles (particulate pollution or soot) that can be inhaled deep into the lungs and aggravate respiratory conditions such as asthma and chronic bronchitis, increasing cough and mucous secretion.

Learn more: Sulfur dioxide's role in particulate pollution and dangers to children

Carbon dioxide (CO₂) and global warming. Carbon dioxide does not directly impair human health but is the most significant greenhouse gas that contributes to global warming. The dangers of global warming include disruption of global weather patterns and ecosystems, flooding, severe storms and droughts. A warming climate will also extend the range of infectious diseases.

Learn more: Dangers of global warming at FightGlobalWarming.com

TXU's existing power plants emit 55 million tons of CO₂ into the atmosphere annually. Its 11 proposed coal-fired power plants would increase that amount by a staggering 78 million tons—an increase of 141 percent—to a total of 133 million tons of CO₂ a year.

Learn more: TXU's pollution in perspective | Dangers of carbon dioxide and global warming

Too many Americans suffer illness or death from particle pollution

Hundreds of thousands of Americans suffer each year from asthma attacks, cardiac and respiratory problems associated with fine particles from power plants. These illnesses result in tens of thousands of emergency room visits, hospitalizations and lost work days each year.

More grim facts:

Fine particle pollution from U.S. power plants cuts short the lives of nearly 24,000 people each year (by an average of 14 years), including 2,800 from lung cancer.
Power plant pollution is responsible for 38,200 non-fatal heart attacks per year.
The elderly, children, and those with respiratory disease are most severely affected by fine particle pollution.
People who live in metropolitan areas near coal-fired plants (pollution hot spots) are most acutely affected by toxic emissions – death rates in these areas are much higher than areas with few or no coal-fired plants.

TXU's much-touted 'voluntary' cuts in toxic emissions are required

While TXU has trumpeted that its proposal will result in a 20 percent across-the-board voluntary reduction of toxic emissions such as mercury and nitrogen oxide, these so-called voluntary cuts are actually federally mandated. EPA’s Clean Air Interstate Rule (CAIR) and Clean Air Mercury Rule (CAMR), adopted in 2005, require significant cuts in pollutants from existing power plants.

Specifically, nitrogen oxide emissions from TXU’s fleet of existing plants must be reduced by 20 percent, a level comparable to reductions in its "voluntary" program. Moreover, under CAIR and CAMR, SO₂ and mercury emissions must be cut significantly more than what TXU’s "voluntary" program calls for.

The CAIR and CAMR programs do offer power plant owners an option of reducing emissions at their plants or paying other power generators to acquire enough additional allowances to equal their total emissions. But compliance with the program is not voluntary, and it is misleading for TXU to characterize the reductions required by federal law as voluntary initiatives.

Further, these standards set baseline minimums, and simply meeting the minimal required standards is not enough. Companies like TXU that contribute heavily to the state’s air quality problem must strive beyond the minimums. Local pollution "hot spots" are of serious concern to residents who live near the proposed plants. The company must and can do more to protect our health.