Re: Power Plant Pollution Linked to 30,000 Premature Deaths Each Year

[Bernard L Cohen <blc+@pitt.edu>]

	There is a great deal of credible scientific evidence that air
pollution is causing many tens of thousands of deaths per year. This was
the subject of an extensive  DOE research program 15-20 years ago, and the
evidence was summarised by the group at Harvard consisting of John
Spengler, Dick Wilson, Haluk Ozkaynak, etc.
	The pollution in Pittsburgh and other cities that was cleaned up
in the 1940s and 1950s was the coarse particulates that caused filth and
smog, but it was probably not an important health hazard. Removing coarse
particulates is easy to do and is aesthetically beneficial. The problem
with recent air pollution is that no one knows what is causing the health
impacts and most pollutants are not easy to remove.
	If people want more info on this, I can provide it. But it will be
interesting to see what evidence is provided in the recent document that
started this thread.

 Bernard L. Cohen
Physics Dept.
University of Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh, PA 15260
Tel: (412)624-9245
Fax: (412)624-9163
e-mail: blc+@pitt.edu


On Thu, 19 Oct 2000, ruth_weiner wrote:

> This is another one of those "links" that defies common sense (see Biwer and
> Butler, RISK ANALYSIS, 1999, p1159, that claimns 27000 deaths per year in
> the U. S. SOLELY from breathing diesel exhaust and fugitive road dust).  If
> the diesel exhaust claim were true, the city of Athens, Greece would be
> completely depopulated.  If the cited deaths from power plant emissions were
> real, how did we ever survive BEFORE air pollution control, let alone
> survive in good health?  My husband and I grew up in Pittsburgh and
> Baltimore, respectively, in the 1940s and 1950s.  Both cities had heavily
> polluted air, from steel mills, uncontrolled municipal incinerators, diesel
> buses, etc. -- they were much more polluted than they are now.  If we
> extrapolate these claims of deaths, to those conditions, there would have
> been significant mortality, and the Donora, PA incident of 1948 would not
> have been cited as unusual.
> 
> The conclusions of these studies are based on linear extrapolations, and I
> question also the correlations they make.
> 
> Lest someone misunderstands: I am not promoting air pollution as a good
> thing.  Quite the contrary -- it should be controlled as much as reasonably
> possible.  But just because it's nasty, unpleasant, dirty, etc. doesn't make
> it the sort of killer that it is purported to be.
> 
> Ruth Weiner
> ruth_weiner@msn.com
> 
> 
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Susan Gawarecki <loc@icx.net>
> To: Multiple recipients of list <radsafe@romulus.ehs.uiuc.edu>
> Date: Wednesday, October 18, 2000 5:21 PM
> Subject: Power Plant Pollution Linked to 30,000 Premature Deaths Each Year
> 
> 
> >Power Plant Pollution Linked to 30,000 Premature Deaths Each Year
> >By Brian Hansen
> >
> >WASHINGTON, DC, October 17, 2000 (ENS) - Pollution generated by
> >U.S. power plants is responsible for cutting short the lives of over
> >30,000 Americans each year, more deaths than are caused by
> >murderers or drunk drivers.
> >
> >The figures are contained in a groundbreaking new report unveiled
> >today by a coalition of environmental and public health groups.
> >
> >The report, which puts forth a damning indictment of U.S. regulatory
> >policies, is titled, "Death, Disease and Dirty Power: Mortality and
> >Health Damage Due to Air Pollution from Power Plants."
> >
> >The analysis is the first ever attempt to quantify the deaths and
> >other health effects attributable exclusively to the fine particle
> >pollution produced by the nation's coal and oil fired power plants.
> >
> >As of January 1, 1999, coal fired capacity represented 40 percent of the
> >nation's electric generating capacity in 1998. Gas fired capacity
> >accounted for 21 percent; nuclear for 13 percent; hydroelectricity for
> >13 percent; petroleum for 9.3 percent; and renewables for 2.8 percent.
> >
> ><snip>
> >
> >The full text of the Clear the Air report on the health effects of
> >power plant pollution is available on the group's Web site, located at
> >http://www.cleartheair.org.
> >
> >Complete news story at:
> >http://ens-news.com/ens/oct2000/2000L-10-17-15.html
> >
> >My comment:
> >
> >I noted that this report doesn't attempt to quantify the deaths due to
> >resource extraction (coal mining, oil drilling) or transportation,
> >although the numbers cited for pollution deaths make for an interesting
> >comparison to the 23 excess deaths predicted from exposure to radiation
> >from transport of nuclear waste.
> >
> >I expect that these estimates suffer from the same shortcomings as do
> >the risk assessments done on the nuclear power cycle, so don't be quick
> >to hold them up as gospel.
> >
> >Any opinions expressed are my own.
> >
> >Regards,
> >Susan
> >--
> >.....................................................
> >Susan L. Gawarecki, Ph.D., Executive Director
> >Oak Ridge Reservation Local Oversight Committee
> >                       -----
> >The LOC newsletter "Insights" is posted on our Web site
> >http://www.local-oversight.org - E-mail loc@icx.net
> >.....................................................
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> 
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