PENNSYLVANIA State leads nation in deaths from power plant emissions

The study quantifies heart attack and lung cancer deaths caused by pollution.
PITTSBURGH (AP) -- More people in Pennsylvania die prematurely from power plant emissions every year than in any other state, according to a consultant used by the Environmental Protection Agency.
On a per-capita basis, Pennsylvania ranks fifth nationally, trailing neighboring states West Virginia (first) and Ohio (fourth).
The report by Cambridge Mass.-based Abt Associates Inc. was commissioned by environmental groups and funded by the Pew Charitable Trusts. The report was released Wednesday.
Nationally, power plant pollution results in 23,600 premature deaths each year, including 2,800 from lung cancer, according to the study. Those who died from complications brought on by soot from power plants lost an average of 14 years.
It is the first study to quantify how many heart attacks and lung cancer deaths are caused by power plant emissions, said Angela Ledford, director of Clean The Air.
Pennsylvania also leads the nation in heart attacks induced by emissions, 3,329 each year, according to the report.
Researchers used computer modeling to compare EPA figures on plant emissions and dispersal patterns with a Harvard University study that examined airborne particular matter for six cities in 1993, and also a 1995 study by the American Cancer Society.
Reaction
Industry groups attacked the report, saying emissions have been declining for decades and that other sources of airborne pollutants are more dangerous.
"In studies of indoor air pollution the EPA Office of Air and Radiation has found that the average person spends about 93 percent of his or her time indoors, 5 percent in transit, and only 2 percent outdoors," said Scott Segal, director of the Electric Reliability Coordinating Council. "Indoor air pollutants are more linked to health harms than any outdoor emissions."
Pennsylvania gets a heavy dose of sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxide, mercury and carbon dioxide from plants south and west of the state border, said Cliff Davidson, a professor of engineering and public policy at Carnegie Mellon University.
Carnegie Mellon did a one-year study between 2001 and 2002 that found particulate airborne matter remained at similar levels in Pittsburgh and at test sites 30 miles upwind and downwind of the city.
"Because the concentration did not differ and varied at the same time, it was clear that the pollutants were not generated locally," Davidson said.
Finding the source
Carnegie Mellon is now trying to see where Pennsylvania's pollution comes from by tracking the air flows using National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration data. Pennsylvania, which has numerous power plants, also sends its own pollutants to the north and east.
Power industry officials said environmentalists have repackaged old data and point to EPA data that shows a dramatic reduction in emissions.
EPA data shows sulfur dioxide emissions have been reduced from 17.3 million tons in 1980 to 10.2 million tons in 2002, said John Blaney, managing director of the energy markets group for ICF Consulting in Fairfax, Va.
Preliminary figures for 2003 show levels of sulfur dioxide up at 10.6 million tons, he said.