by Angela Ledford
Knight Ridder-Tribune
The rash of ozone alerts in major cities this summer drives home the realization that air pollution directly affects enormous numbers of us every day, especially children and the elderly. Typically, on code red days we're told to drive less, not use gasoline-powered lawnmowers, and wait it out indoors. But cars aren't the only source of the problem, and in fact perhaps not even the most easily addressed. Congress can help when it returns, if it doesn't ignore the issue once the ozone subsides.
Although it varies by region of the country, power plants - particularly the oldest and dirtiest - contribute significantly to all forms of air pollution. Nationally, about one-quarter of all ozone smog is generated by power plants. For nitrogen oxides, one of the two main precursors of ozone, cars and light trucks account for about 11 percent of the total, while electric utilities contribute 25 percent. Of that 25 percent, nine-tenths of it comes from coal-fired power plants.
Ozone smog, as most people know, isn't good for them. A recent study estimated that ozone pollution triggers more than 6 million asthma attacks each year. Children, who make up 25 percent of the population but comprise 40 percent of the asthma cases, are especially at risk during the summer, since they breathe 50 percent more air per pound of body weight than adults.
Ozone, by itself, is invisible. As smog it creates a faint smudge around the horizon, but the rest of that grimy, gray haze we see is from particulate matter, chiefly sulfur dioxide, which also serves as the main culprit for acid rain. And fully two-thirds of sulfur dioxide emissions come from power plants, again nine-tenths of it from those that burn coal.
The haze we see is the haze we breathe. Not only does it obscure everything from sunsets to national parks, but it lodges deep within our lungs, interfering with breathing. For healthy adults it may, like ozone smog, cause discomfort. For those who already have breathing problems, or whose lungs are either among the youngest or oldest, the results can be fatal.
The fine particles of haze can be inhaled more deeply into the lungs than larger particles, causing serious damage. Health concerns associated with fine particle exposure range from difficulty breathing, to lung tissue damage, to respiratory disease and premature death. Fine particles from power plants alone have been linked to more than 30,000 American deaths each year.
The danger, from a policy perspective, is that we think we have more control over cars, because individually we make decisions every day about driving. But time and again, we've seen that as a society, driving behavior is much harder to shape. It may do no more good to say, "Why can't we all drive less?" than to say to enemies at loggerheads, "Why can't we all get along?"
On the other hand, we can do much more about cleaning up power plants than many realize. The oldest, dirtiest, coal-fired power plants were supposed to have gone the way of the dinosaur years ago. The only reason they were given a free pass under the 1970 Clean Air Act, exempting them from most pollution control, was that utilities argued such plants would soon wear out.
Before Congress adjourned for the summer, the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee passed a bill sponsored by Sen. James Jeffords, I-Vt., the Clean Power Act. It would reduce not only smog and haze, but also, for the first time, mandate cuts in toxic mercury emissions and carbon dioxide - the primary global warming pollutant - from power plants. Perhaps most important, it would set a date certain for the oldest, most egregiously polluting power plants to finally clean up. The next step, when Congress returns, will be consideration by the full Senate.
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Let's hope that as heat diminishes, as the code red days cease, and as the park vistas grow more visible, Congress doesn't forget what the bad air days of summer are like. For many people, life and health may depend upon it.
