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We all use electricity in our daily lives, almost without thinking about it -- turning on the lights, listening to the radio, using computers. If we stopped and learned about the energy we use, we would encounter some shocking realities about how energy production affects our health and our environment.
Where Our Power Comes From
With all the amazing technological advancements over the last century, one thing that has not changed very much is our reliance on fossil fuels, in particular, dirty coal to generate electricity. More than half of the electricity generated in the United States comes from coal.1 The producers of the largest share of our nation's energy, coal-fired power plants are also one of the dirtiest sources of electricity.
Older Plants are Dirtier
When the Clean Air Act of the 1970s was passed, Congress included a "grandfathering" loophole that allowed older power plants to avoid meeting the modern pollution control standards that new facilities had to adapt. At the time, Congress allowed the loophole because it expected that these "grandfathered" plants would soon retire and be replaced by cleaner, new plants. However, many of these older coal-fired power plants have sidestepped the new source review provision and have illegally avoided installing modern pollution controls.2 As a result, today most existing power plants are between 30-50 years old and are up to 10 times dirtier than new power plants.3 We are now faced with a disproportionate amount of pollution coming from these old, dirty, under-controlled plants.
Dirty Coal-Fired Power Plants and Air Pollution
Power plants are a major source of air pollution, with coal-fired power plants spewing 59% of total U.S. sulfur dioxide pollution and 18% of total nitrogen oxides every year.4 Coal-fired power plants are also the largest polluter of toxic mercury pollution5, largest contributor of hazardous air toxics6, and release about 50% of particle pollution.7 Additionally, power plants release over 40% of total U.S. carbon dioxide emissions, a prime contributor to global warming.8
Smog and Ozone
Power plants are second only to automobiles as the greatest source of NOx emissions.9 When nitrogen oxide (NOx) reacts with volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and sunlight, smog (ground level ozone) forms. Of the six major criteria air pollutants regulated by the EPA, NOx emissions have historically been the hardest to control. One of the contributing factors is that NOx emissions from huge dirty coal plants in one region can easily pollute areas hundreds of miles downwind. The American Lung Association estimates that almost half-48% or 140.5 million- of Americans live in areas with unhealthy levels of smog.10
When inhaled, smog can cause a wide range of health problems, including immediate symptoms like shortness of breath, chest pains, wheezing, and increased susceptibility to respiratory problems.11 Smog can also cause many more serious problems like increased risk of asthma attacks and lung inflammation. Recently, scientists concluded that exposure to smog can be deadly. Smog affects everyone, but is especially dangerous for children, the elderly, and those with respiratory problems.
Even our national parks have not escaped the smog and ozone pollution caused by coal-fired power plants. Many parks already experience unhealthy air days, and the problem is getting worse.12 Smog concentrations have increased at 22 of 31 National Park Service monitoring sites since 1990. This persistent ozone pollution can harm plants and vegetation by damaging leaves and disrupting growth.13 Along with other pollutants, nitrous oxides can also chemically alter soil and water, leading to acidification and other serious problems that harm plants and animals.
Particle Pollution and Soot
Coal-fired power plants are also the largest single source of sulfur dioxide (SO2), releasing about 2/3 of the total SO2 pollution each year.14 Sulfur dioxide, which can travel long distances in the atmosphere before falling down to the land, can cause problems on its own as well as when it combines with other pollution to form other dangerous compounds.15 In addition to acid rain (see below), SO2 can combine with nitrogen oxide (NOx) and other particles to form particulate matter, which is sometimes called soot. Particulate matter, which can also be released directly from the smokestacks of coal-fired power plants, is often divided into categories based on the size of the particles-coarse, fine, and ultrafine-but all three are hazardous to your health and the environment.16
Particle pollution is one of the most dangerous air pollutants, and over 64 million Americans are estimated to breathe air that has so much particle pollution that it puts their health at risk.17 Particle pollution can trigger heart attacks and strokes, lead to cardiac arrhythmia (irregular heartbeat), cause respiratory irritation, and worsen asthma. Both short-term and long-term exposure can cause premature death. In fact, particle pollution from power plants in the U.S. leads to over 30,000 deaths each year-a shocking figure when compared to the 17,000 homicides committed each year.18 Cutting power plant emissions by 75% could avoid more than 18,000 of the deaths caused by particle pollution.
In addition to its health impacts, particle pollution is also the number one cause for haze, or reduced visibility, in the U.S., including in our National Parks.19 Regional haze from airborne pollutants has reduced annual average visibility in the U.S. from natural conditions to about one-half in the west and to one-third in the east.20
Acid Rain
Acid rain, or acid deposition, occurs when sulfur dioxide (SO2) and nitrogen oxide (NOx) react with water and oxygen in the atmosphere to form acidic compounds, most commonly sulfuric and nitric acid.21 These acidic compounds then either mix with natural precipitation and fall to the earth as acid rain, or remain dry and then settle to the ground. In the U.S., coal-fired power plants are the single largest source of SO2 pollution (66%)22 and the second largest source of NOx pollution.23
Acid rain destroys ecosystems, including streams and lakes, by changing their delicate pH balance making them unable to support life. Acid rain can destroy forests, devastate plant and animal life, and eat away at man-made monuments and buildings to effectively destroy our natural and historical treasures.24 Already, numerous lakes and streams in the Adirondack Mountains in upstate New York are too acidic to support fish life, and long-term acidification continues to threaten the Chesapeake Bay.25
Air Toxics and Mercury
Coal-fired power plants are the largest single man-made source of mercury pollution in the U.S.26, and are the largest contributor of hazardous air pollutants.27 In smokestack tests, coal-fired power plants were found to release 67 air toxics, many of which are known or suspected carcinogens and neurotoxins that can cause development problems, respiratory problems, and aggravate asthma.28
Of these air toxics, one of the most dangerous is mercury. Mercury from coal-fired power plants is released into the air through the exhaust system when coal is burned. The primary exposure for Americans occurs when this mercury falls to the earth and runs into our lakes, rivers, and streams and contaminates the fish.29 Humans can be contaminated when they eat these fish and shellfish. In 2004, 47 states and territories had fish consumption advisories for mercury for at least some of their waters.30
Mercury is a developmental toxin, primarily affecting fetal development.31 In unborn children, it can cause brain damage, mental retardation, blindness, and many other problems. Infants are also exposed to these dangers through contaminated breast milk. While the dangers of mercury are most often associated with women and children, eating fish high in mercury has also been found to put middle-aged men at a greater risk for coronary heart disease.32
Global Warming
Burning fossil fuels such as coal releases carbon dioxide (CO2) pollution, making energy use the single largest source of greenhouse gases in the U.S. and the world.33 Currently there is 30% more CO2 in the atmosphere than there was at the start of the Industrial Revolution, and we are well on the way to doubling CO2 levels in the atmosphere during this century. Although the US has only four percent of the world's population it emits about 25% of global warming pollution.34,35
Power plants emit 40% of total U.S. carbon dioxide pollution, the primary global warming pollutant.36 Although coal-fired power plants account for just over half of the electricity produced in the U.S. each year, they have been responsible for over 83% of the CO2 pollution since 1990.37 Coal-fired power plants have the highest output rate of CO2 per unit of electricity among all fossil fuels.38
The atmospheric concentrations of CO2 and other greenhouse gases reached a new high in the 1990s, the hottest decade on record.39 Average global temperatures have risen already by one degree Fahrenheit, and projections indicate an increase of two to ten degrees within this century. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has reported that global warming threatens human populations and the world's ecosystems with worsening heat waves, floods, drought, extreme weather, and by spreading infectious diseases. Unfortunately, global warming problems continue to grow as more greenhouse gases are spewed into our atmosphere.
Challenges and Solutions
The facts are in: coal-fired power plants and the pollution they release every day are a major threat to human health and our environment. We need to act now to clean up dirty coal power through pollution reductions that can protect our families now, not in two decades. We also need to reduce our dependence on dirty coal by retiring and replacing these plants with clean energy alternatives like wind, solar, and improvements in energy efficiency.
We have the technology today to implement real energy solutions that will move our country forward into a brighter energy future. These solutions can curb global warming and cut air pollution, while at the same time building a clean, sustainable economy that lowers energy bills and creates thousands of new jobs. To learn more about what we're doing and how you can be a part of it, click here.
Citations
- U.S. Department of Energy, "Coal website." Accessed August 8, 2006.
- , Joel A., "'Treading Water': A Preliminary Assessment of EPA Enforcement During the Bush II Administration." October 2004. 34 Environmental Law Reporter: 10933-10953.
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- Clean Air Task Force, "No Escape: Can You Really Ever Get Away From the Smog." 1999.
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- U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, "National Air Quality and Emissions Trends Report." 2003. Appendix A.
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- U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Fact Sheet, "EPA to Regulate Mercury and Other Air Toxics Emissions from Coal- and Oil-Fired Power Plants." December 14, 2000. Available at http://www.epa.gov/ttn/oarpg/t3/fact_sheets/fs_util.pdf
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- Clean Air Task Force, "Children at Risk: How Air Pollution from Power Plants Threatens the Health of America's Children." May 2002. Available at http://www.catf.us/publications/reports/Children_at_Risk.pdf
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- Ibid.
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- U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, "Inventory of U.S. Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Sinks: 1990-2005," April 2007. Based on calculation of CO2 emissions from tables 3-1 and 3-3. Available here.
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- U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, "NOx: How Nitrogen Oxides Affect the Way We Live and Breathe." September 1998. EPA-456/F-98-005. Available at http://www.epa.gov/oar/noxfldr.pdf
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- American Lung Association, "State of the Air: 2006." 2006.
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- American Lung Association, "State of the Air: 2006." 2006.
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- U.S. National Park Service, "Air Quality in the National Parks, Second Edition." September 2002. Available at http://www2.nature.nps.gov/air/pubs/aqnps.cfm
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- U.S. National Park Service, "Effects of Air Pollution on Ecological Resources." Accessed August 7, 2006 at http://www2.nature.nps.gov/air/AQBasics/ecologic.cfm
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- U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, "National Air Quality and Emissions Trends Report." 2003. Appendix A.
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- U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, "SO2 - How Sulfur Dioxide Affects the Way We Live & Breathe." November 2000. Available at http://www.epa.gov/air/urbanair/so2/index.html
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- American Lung Association, "State of the Air: 2006." 2006.
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- American Lung Association, "State of the Air: 2006." 2006.
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- Clean Air Task Force, "Death, Disease and Dirty Power: Mortality and Health Disease Due to Air Pollution from Power Plants." October 2000. Available at http://www.cleartheair.org/fact/mortality/mortalitylowres.pdf
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- U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, "Particulate Matter Website." Accessed August 10, 2006. Available at http://www.epa.gov/air/particlepollution/index.html
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- U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, "How Air Pollution Affects the View." April 2006. Available at http://www.epa.gov/visibility/pdfs/haze_brochure_20060426.pdf
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- U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, "Acid Rain Website." Accessed August 9, 2006. Available at http://www.epa.gov/airmarkets/acidrain/index.html
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- U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, "National Air Quality and Emissions Trends Report." 2003. Appendix A.
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- U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, "NOx: How Nitrogen Oxides Affect the Way We Live and Breathe." September 1998. EPA-456/F-98-005. Available at http://www.epa.gov/oar/noxfldr.pdf
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- U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, "NOx: How Nitrogen Oxides Affect the Way We Live and Breathe." September 1998. EPA-456/F-98-005. Available at http://www.epa.gov/oar/noxfldr.pdf
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- U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, "Effects of Acid Rain: Lakes & Streams." Accessed August 9, 2006. Available at http://www.epa.gov/airmarkets/acidrain/effects/surfacewater.html
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- U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, "EPA to Regulate Mercury and Other Air Toxics Emissions from Coal- and Oil-Fired Power Plants." December 14, 2000. Available at http://www.epa.gov/ttn/oarpg/t3/fact_sheets/fs_util.pdf
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- Clean Air Task Force, "Children at Risk: How Air Pollution from Power Plants Threatens the Health of America's Children." May 2002. Available at http://www.catf.us/publications/reports/Children_at_Risk.pdf
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- Ibid.
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- U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, "Mercury Human Exposure Website." Accessed August 10, 2006. Available at http://www.epa.gov/mercury/exposure.htm
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- U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Water, "2004 National Listing of Fish Advisories," September 2005. EPA-823-F-05-004.
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- Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry, "ToxFAQs for Mercury." April 1999.
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- American Heart Association, "Mercury, Fish Oils, and Risk of Acute Coronary Events and Cardiovascular Disease, Coronary Heart Disease, and All-Cause Mortality in Men in Eastern Finland." November 11, 2004.
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- Energy Information Administration, "Emissions of Greenhouse Gases in the United States 2004." December 2005. Report #: DOE/EIA-0573(2004)
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- Population Reference Bureau, "2005 World Population Data Sheet." 2005.
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- Energy Information Administration, "Emissions of Greenhouse Gases in the United States 2004." December 2005. Report #: DOE/EIA-0573(2004)
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- U.S. Department of Energy and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, "Carbon Dioxide Emissions from the Generation of Electric Power in the United States." July 2000. Available here.
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- Environmental Information Administration, "U.S. Carbon Dioxide Emissions from Energy Sources 2005 Flash Estimate." June 2006. Available at http://www.eia.doe.gov/oiaf/1605/flash/pdf/flash.pdf
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- U.S. Department of Energy and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, "Carbon Dioxide Emissions from the Generation of Electric Power in the United States." July 2000. Available here.
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- Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, "Climate Change 2001: Synthesis Report, Summary for Policymakers." 2001.
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