{"id":1891,"date":"2011-03-08T10:05:51","date_gmt":"2011-03-08T16:05:51","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/valleywatch.net\/?p=1891"},"modified":"2011-03-08T10:22:04","modified_gmt":"2011-03-08T16:22:04","slug":"american-lung-association-report-highlights-toxic-health-threat-of-coal-fired-power-plants-calls-for-epa-to-reduce-emissions-and-save-lives","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/valleywatch.net\/?p=1891","title":{"rendered":"American Lung Association Report Highlights Toxic Health Threat of Coal-fired Power Plants, Calls for EPA to Reduce Emissions and Save Lives"},"content":{"rendered":"

March 8, 2011, By the American Lung Association<\/strong><\/p>\n

The American Lung Association today released\u00a0Toxic Air: The Case for Cleaning Up Coal-fired Power Plants<\/em><\/a>, a new report that documents the range of hazardous air pollutants emitted from power plants and the urgent need to clean them up to protect public health. The report highlights the wide range of uncontrolled pollutants from these plants including: toxic metals and metal-like substances such as arsenic and lead; mercury; dioxins; chemicals known or thought to cause cancer, including formaldehyde, benzene and radioisotopes; and acid gases such as hydrogen chloride. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is required to issue a proposal to cleanup this toxic pollution by March\u00a016.[youtube id=”6hectXN9dnY” w=”640″ h=”440″]<\/p>\n

The report details the dangerous mix of toxic air pollutants that flow from the stacks of uncontrolled coal burning power plants and the adverse health effects associated with these pollutants.\u00a0 The report also discusses the technologies that are available for dramatically cutting these emissions\u2014technologies that are commercially available and proven to\u00a0work.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s time that we end the \u2018toxic loophole\u2019 that has allowed coal-burning power plants to operate without any federal limits on emissions of mercury, arsenic, dioxin, acid gases such as hydrogen chloride and other dangerous pollutants,\u201d said Charles D. Connor, president and CEO of the American Lung Association. \u201cThe American public has waited long enough\u2014more than two decades. We are counting on EPA to protect all Americans from the health risks imposed by these dangerous pollutants once and\u00a0for\u00a0all.\u201d<\/p>\n

Key facts highlighted in the report:<\/p>\n