Atlanta sick of smog, study says - Utility-financed report disputed

[Susan Gawarecki <loc@icx.net>]

More on the debate about the health effects of air pollution.



--Susan Gawarecki



Atlanta sick of smog, study says - Utility-financed report disputed

(Atlanta Journal Constitution, Dec. 1)



WASHINGTON — Air pollution levels in Atlanta are linked to hospital 

visits for problems ranging from respiratory infections to heart 

attacks, scientists from a utility industry-owned research center said 

Wednesday.



But the Electric Power Research Institute, or EPRI, indicated that most 

of the health effects appear to be associated with pollution from cars 

and trucks rather than coal-burning power plants. The research is part 

of an ongoing series of air pollution studies initiated in the early 

1990s by the institute and Atlanta-based Southern Co.



EPRI executive Ron Wyzga told a news conference that the research shows 

"a statistical link between air pollution and health effects, 

particularly with several types of cardiovascular disease."



Critics questioned the research conclusions, contending the institute 

had put a utility industry "spin" on the findings.



Citing epidemiological studies by scientists at Emory University, 

Georgia Tech, Kaiser Permanente-Georgia and other institutions, Wyzga 

said the work revealed particular health problems associated with carbon 

monoxide and carbon particles. Both are typically released into city air 

by cars and trucks.



It found a slight but statistically significant increase in asthma, 

upper respiratory infections and heart attacks on heavy pollution days.



Hospital statistics were compared with levels of pollutants such as 

ozone, nitrogen dioxide, carbon monoxide and sulfur dioxide measured at 

a central Atlanta sampling site.



However, scientists not associated with the studies accused EPRI of 

"spinning" the research to make it appear that pollution from power 

plants is a less serious problem than the studies actually indicate.



"The scientists with the universities in Atlanta have done very balanced 

work," said Jana Milford, an atmospheric chemist with the advocacy group 

Environmental Defense, "but when the utility industry presents the 

results the spin starts."



And George Thurston, a New York University epidemiologist, said the 

utility industry's interpretation of the research was off-base in 

several respects.



He noted that taking air samples from central Atlanta overstates the 

amount of car exhaust in the city's air.



"If you did a study of air pollution and health problems in Los Angeles, 

you'd say power plants are no problem at all, because there are millions 

of cars there and no power plants," he said.



Thurston, who has worked as a consultant for the Clean Air Task Force, 

an environmental group, said the Atlanta study, which EPRI describes as 

"a uniquely designed and comprehensive study," is too small to support 

strong statistical conclusions.



He also said some of the Atlanta university scientists have privately 

complained to him that their work is being misrepresented by the power 

industry.



The Environmental Protection Agency released a report in October, saying 

that ground-level ozone — smog — is responsible for tens of thousands of 

premature deaths annually in America, including Atlanta, mostly from 

heart and lung maladies. The odorless, colorless gas is formed on hot, 

sunny days when sunlight triggers reactions between nitrogen oxides and 

hydrocarbons emitted from cars, airplanes, coal-burning power plants and 

other sources.



Wyzga said the EPRI research will be expanded to other cities, beginning 

with St. Louis.



Other studies have implicated sulfates, which are extremely minute 

particles that come from power plant smoke, with cancer, respiratory 

disease and heart attack deaths.



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