Letter to the Editor: It’s not clean energy if it makes your citizens sick
I am a southern Indiana family physician who assisted in the successful fight against two biomass plants that were proposed in Scott and Crawford County, Indiana in 2009. I am writing to encourage the citizens of Dubois County not to fall to the propaganda used by the biomass industry to marginalize any opposition to corporate profits.
Fortunately, in our fight, we were able to submit evidence from multiple medical organizations, including the American Heart Association, the American Lung Association, the American Academy of Pediatrics, and the Indiana University School of Public and Environmental Affairs specifically addressing the dangers of biomass on the health of individuals. After introducing the science, rather than the rhetoric, of the dangers of exposure to particulate pollution, as well as other health hazards, local policy makers in both counties enacted legislation to prevent the construction of these pillars of death in our communities.
Just because a power plant is granted a permit by the Indiana Department of Environmental Management (IDEM), does not mean it will be safe. The current process does not account for some of the most harmful particulates, called “ultrafine”, and does not regulate particulate pollution to levels which are safe. There are now hundreds of research studies showing that particulate pollution is harmful, even at levels BELOW what is considered “safe” by IDEM. Air pollution is associated with an increased risk of a broad range of medical problems, from lung disease such as asthma attacks and pneumonia, emergency room use, hospitalization rates, heart attacks, and higher rates of death.
I support the efforts of Healthy Dubois County with regards to the proposed miscanthus biomass plant. What surprises me is that government officials are continuing to pursue development of this plant despite the county already having very unhealthy air. The American Lung Association “State of the Air 2013” report www.stateoftheair.org shows that Dubois county FAILS in its air quality regarding particulate matter. These criteria are set by the Environmental Protection Agency, which are then enforced by IDEM. The American Lung Association “State of the Air 2013” report also shows that 3 of the 25 most polluted communities in the nation are here in Indiana. If IDEM is adequately doing their job to protect Indiana citizens, why then is air quality in so many communities suffering?
There is a bright side for Dubois County. If you look at the long term data on the American Lung Association web site, particulate pollution has been improving over the last 10 years. However, despite the improvements, air pollution remains ABOVE what the EPA considers safe levels for individuals. The air quality in Dubois County today remains dangerously unhealthy per the federal regulations. Burning biomass for energy will only make this situation worse, and will threaten any improvements in air quality that have been made over the last decade.
The biomass industry markets its product as clean energy. However at a meeting in 2010, I presented public data from IDEM comparing the proposed biomass plant in Scott County to the Clifty Creek Power Plant in Madison, Indiana, which is listed by the EPA as one of the top 100 polluters in the nation. I compared particulate emissions from the Madison plant to the numbers projected by IDEM for the Scott county facility. Particulate pollution from this plant would have been 10 times higher per megawatt produced than the coal-powered power plant in Madison. An IDEM air control engineer at that meeting acknowledged that the data from their web site appeared accurate.
The truth is that biomass combustion is dirtier than coal. Current medical research shows that particulate emissions from biomass combustion are a serious health hazard, especially for children, whose lungs are very susceptible to these toxins. The question I pose to your community is why burn biomass within the city limits, where exposure to children is highest?
In light of the fact that Dubois County ALREADY FAILS standards that are considered safe by the Environmental Protection Agency, why is development of a biomass plant even being considered? It’s time to demand that your city, county, and state government officials protect the health of your citizens.
It’s not clean energy if it makes your citizens sick.
Dr. Shane Avery MD Scottsburg, IN
Should we just go ahead and burn coal for our convenient electricity? Anyone 50 years old or more can recall seeing the black sulfur smelling smoke bellowing from the boilers of factories years ago. Yeah, the power plants have scrubbers that “clean” the smoke from the exhaust now (how clean I wonder) but if they can clean particles from that nasty coal smoke, I would think they could surely clean the particles from the smoke of what was once a living plant (grass)
What makes you more sick pollution from coal or pollution from biomass?
Do we need pollution at all?
Completely agreed. If you drive out on 15th street and hang a left at the stop sign before the golf course, you can see from that hill a thick haze sitting squarely on top of the city at night. This is easily seen before any other particles are even being released from the new proposed plant. I work for people with respiratory issues and I can not see this helping the existing patients. I only imagine more and more will need assistance.
“I am writing to encourage the citizens of Dubois County not to fall to the propaganda used by the biomass industry to marginalize any opposition to corporate profits.” It almost seems to me that the author does not hold profit in high regard. Perhaps I’m wrong!