December, 28 2008, 12:50pm EDT
Tennesse Coal Plant Kills 140+ per Year
United States
A 2002 report found that Tennessee's Kingston Fossil Plant, the site of the
December 22nd coal sludge spilled, has had persistent problems with
public health. The report, written by Abt Associates for the Environmental Integrity
Project and Rockefeller Family Fund, found that pollution from the plant cut
short the lives between 149 and 171 people in 2001. Pollution levels from the
plant since then have remained relatively constant. The report blames
poorly-regulated particulate pollution produced by the plant for heart disease,
lung cancer, asthma attacks, and other impacts.
December 22nd coal sludge spilled, has had persistent problems with
public health. The report, written by Abt Associates for the Environmental Integrity
Project and Rockefeller Family Fund, found that pollution from the plant cut
short the lives between 149 and 171 people in 2001. Pollution levels from the
plant since then have remained relatively constant. The report blames
poorly-regulated particulate pollution produced by the plant for heart disease,
lung cancer, asthma attacks, and other impacts.
"In the last ten years, the Kingston
coal plant could be responsible for more than 1000 premature deaths from air
pollution," said Rick Hind, Greenpeace Legislative Director. "Sadly, that's
typical for coal pollution, which cuts short the lives of at least 24,000
Americans every year and is the leading U.S. source of global warming
pollution.
The report is available at https://www.abtassociates.com/reports/ES-Abt_41_power_plant_report_Nov19.pdf
and the relevant data is on page 6.
The coal sludge spill is now estimated at
over 1 billion gallons (approximately 100 times the size of the 1989 Exxon
Valdez spill) and is thought to have contaminated the Emory and Clinch Rivers
(which feed into the Tennessee) with toxic chemicals like arsenic, mercury,
lead, benzene, cadmium, and others. Dead fish have been washing up on the banks
downstream from the spill. Greenpeace has called for a criminal investigation
of the spill.
Greenpeace called on Congress to rapidly put
a cap on pollution from coal fired power plants and invest in clean energy like
wind, solar, and geothermal power.
"There can be no toxic spills from wind turbines or solar panels," Hind
said.
More
information:
See
attached information on fly ash toxicity.
"False
Hope" - Greenpeace report on "clean" coal: https://www.greenpeace.org/international/press/reports/false-hope
"Dirty
Air, Dirty Power" - Clean Air Task Force report on health impacts from coal: https://www.catf.us/publications/view/24
"Energy
[R]evolution" - Greenpeace report on transition to clean energy. https://www.greenpeace.org/international/press/reports/energyrevolutionreport
Greenpeace Legislative
Director Rick Hind available for interviews.
Rick
Hind Bio
Since
1991, Rick Hind has been the Legislative Director of Greenpeace's Toxics
Campaign. He is one of the nation's foremost experts on a variety of toxics
issues, including security issues related to chemical hazards and the chemical
industry, EPA regulations pertaining to toxic incineration, the pulp and paper
industry, PVC plastics, and toxic pollutants.
He has testified before Congress
on multiple occasions and helped lead Greenpeace's successful global campaign
to ban some of the world's most dangerous chemicals and prevent new ones from
being marketed. The campaign culminated in a legally binding treaty, signed by
120 countries (including the United States), that achieved these goals.
Rick
is a go-to source for journalists covering toxics and chemical security issues.
He has been quoted in a wide range of national publications including The New York Times, The Washington
Post, The Wall Street Journalist, CBS News, NPR, FOX, and many
others. His writing on toxics issues have appeared in many newspapers,
including The New York
Times, The Baltimore Sun, The Philadelphia Inquirer, among others.
Rick's
work to expose the vulnerability of U.S. chemical plants to terrorism and
accidents resulted in a feature story on the CBS program 60 Minutes in November
2003. He was also the subject of a front-page story in The Wall Street Journal in
January, 2004.
Greenpeace is a global, independent campaigning organization that uses peaceful protest and creative communication to expose global environmental problems and promote solutions that are essential to a green and peaceful future.
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