Thursday, December 4, 2003

PRESS CONFERENCE ON TOXIC NEIGHBORS STUDY

Statement Of Brooks Mountcastle, Harrisburg Director:

Good morning. Thank you for being here. My name is Brooks Mountcastle, and I am Clean Air Council's Harrisburg Director. Clean Air Council is a statewide, member-supported environmental advocacy and education organization with offices in Harrisburg, Philadelphia, and Wilmington, Delaware. I am joined by environmental and public health advocates from American Lung Association of Pennsylvania, Penn Environment and Penn Future.

Today we are releasing a study called Toxic Neighbors-a study that shines considerable light on a serious threat to public health here in Harrisburg and around the nation. From the perspective of public health advocates, the study could not have come at a better time. Yesterday, national news reported that the Bush administration's environmental policy advisors no longer want to classify mercury as a toxin, thereby delaying reducing mercury emissions beyond the 2007 deadline as required by the 1990 Clean Air Act amendments. The Centers for Disease Control recently estimated that 8% of women of child bearing age have elevated levels of mercury above what EPA considers safe.

"Toxic Neighbors found that electric utilities emit more toxic air pollution than any other industry-almost three-quarters of a billion pounds each year. Many of these toxic chemicals can cause severe health problems at microscopic levels, especially in children.

Power plants are the country's largest industrial source of mercury pollution emitted into the air. Even at extremely low doses-millionths of a gram-mercury is known to effect the development of a child's brain and nervous system. According to the latest government data, power plants in Pennsylvania emitted more mercury into the air in Pennsylvania than plants in any other state, except for North Carolina and Ohio-states upwind of here. The Keystone Power Plant in Armstrong County emitted more mercury into the air than any other plant in the country-over 1,800 pounds from one plant alone. This poses a serious threat to children's health in Pennsylvania.

"Power plants in Pennsylvania also emitted more dioxin and dioxin-like compounds into the air than power plants in any other state. The Cambria Cogen facility in Cambria County emitted more dioxins into the air than any other power plant in the nation. Dioxin is an extremely potent toxin that persists in the environment for decades. It is known to cause cancer at very low levels. Again, more dioxin is emitted from power plants in Pennsylvanian than anywhere in the U.S.

"One thing the Toxic Neighbors study demonstrates quite clearly is that Pennsylvanians are being hit with far more toxic power plant emissions than the average American.

"Fortunately, the technology exists right now to reduce toxic emissions from power plants. Mercury emissions could be reduced by 90% with current technology. Similar reductions could be made in emissions of dioxin and other hazardous air pollutants.

It looks like that once again, the electric utilities have been successful in pressuring EPA to weaken mercury standards and delay implementing them for as long as possible. The electric utilities are perfectly happy with the status quo, and all indications are that that the Bush administration will continue to stand side-by-side with these big polluters.

"For the sake of our children's health, and for the environmental legacy we leave to our grandchildren, we urge EPA to develop new environmental protections that will reduce toxic air pollution from power plants to the greatest extent possible. Harrisburg and the nation deserve real protections for public health and the environment."