Power sector identified as largest air polluter in US

Power sector identified as largest air polluter in US, Canada

Washington (Platts)--2Jun2004


The electricity generating industry was the largest single emitter of toxic
air pollution in the US and Canada in 2001, according to a report released
Wednesday by the North American Commission for Environmental Cooperation. The
study, "Taking Stock 2001," is based on the most recently available comparable
data from the two countries and examines toxic chemical emissions from
industrial facilities, including chemical manufacturers, steel mills, paper
mills, plastic manufacturers, coal- and oil-fired power plants and hazardous
waste management facilities. While the study found that the generation sector
reduced hazardous emissions 10% between 1998 and 2001, it said 46 of the top
50 air polluters in North America were power plants. The report said the
sector generated 45% of the 755,502 tons of toxic air releases in 2001, with
hydrochloric and sulfuric acids the chemicals most commonly released
from burning oil and coal. Power plants, the report added, also accounted for
64% of all mercury emissions, with most coming from coal combustion.

The study, which was based on data from the US Toxics Release Inventory and
Canada's National Pollutant Release Inventory, identified Progress Energy's
Roxboro coal-fired plant in Semora, North Carolina, Reliant Energy's Keystone
Power Plant in Shelocta, Pennsylvania, and Georgia Power's Bowen plant in
Cartersville, Georgia, as the most polluting plants in the US. The report said
the three facilities each reported more than 7,400 tons of air releases and
were responsible for more than 7% of the total toxic air releases in the US.
The Reliant plant also had the largest on-site source of mercury emissions of
any power plant. In Canada, the largest single air polluter was Ontario Power
Generation's Nanticoke Generating Station in Naticoke, Ontario. In addition,
the report said that three US states--North Carolina, Ohio and Texas--and
Ontario accounted for nearly 25% of all air releases in 2001. In each of the
four, electric generation was either the largest or among the largest sources
of pollution.

This story was first published in Platts real-time news and market reporting
service Platts Electricity Alert (http://electricityalert.platts.com ).

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