Interesting PowerPlant story in USAToday

["Bob Westerdale" <Bob.Westerdale@ametek.com>]

I picked this out of USA Today ( 4-17-02) page 3A  ( wasn't in the on-line version of the paper).


"Power Company to buy small town in Ohio"

" American Electric Power said it will pay $20 million to buy the Ohio hamlet of Cheshire,

which was plagued last summer by clouds of sulfuric acid gas from the company's nearby

 coal burning plant.   Residents reported burning eyes, headaches, sore throats, and burns

 in their mouths.  The 221 residents will have to relocate.   AEP Senior Vice President Bill 

Sigmon also said the deal will allow officials to expand the plant.  AEP installed a $175

million pollution control system in May 2001, but chemicals from the system created  a blue acid

haze that fell on Cheshire more than a dozen times "


This article was buried on a sidebar of page three. If it had been a nuke plant, would anyone care to 

guess which page the story would've been on?   ( OK,  the H2SO4 part  would have been unlikely..

substitute another toxin of your choice!)


The folks of Cheshire were bought out for about $90,500 each.   If a nuke plant had caused the problems, 

anyone have a guess as to the damages they would've sued for?   ( my guess- $$$$$$$)   


Do yo think that the state of Ohio would've allowed a nuke plant to EXPAND after driving 

out the local citizens? 


Although I do not know the land area involved,  this sounds to me like there is a potential that 

AEP  'allowed' the acid fog to be released,  in the interest of  chasing the locals away.  Their land

becomes uninhabitable,  and valued at 'distress sale' prices....  


 I'm not really a conspiracy theorist,  but this looked pretty strange to me. 

Bob Westerdale