June 9, 2004
Environmental Advocates of New York
New York Public Interest Research Group
American Lung Association of New York State

New York State is 5th for Premature Deaths from Power Plant Pollution
Interactive Website Shows Health Effects of Power Plant Pollution in Detail Here

Environmental and public health groups released a new report today detailing the tremendous impact that dirty air caused by dirty power has on the health of New Yorkers. The new report and an accompanying interactive web site reveals that power plant pollution causes over 28,000 asthma attacks, almost 2,500 non-fatal heart attacks, and over 1,200 premature deaths each year in New York State. The report, Dirty Air, Dirty Power, and web site, www.cleartheair.org/dirtypower, were commissioned by Clear the Air and released today in New York by the New York Public Interest Research Group (NYPIRG), American Lung Association of New York State and Environmental Advocates of New York.

The report finds that the New York Metropolitan Area was the worst city in the nation for total premature deaths due to power plant pollution. In total over 1,000 people prematurely die from power plant pollution in the New York City area, which includes New York's counties from Suffolk up to Putnam, 12 of New Jersey's counties and Pike County in Pennsylvania.

Buffalo and Rochester also rank among the 50 worst impacted cities, with almost 150 and 90 premature deaths a year respectively.

Nationally, power plant pollution causes 38,200 heart attacks and 23,600 premature deaths each year, including 2,800 from lung cancer, which exceeds the annual death toll from drunk driving (17,000) or homicides (20,000). The report found that at least 90% or 22,000 of the premature deaths could be avoided by requiring state of the art technology on power plants.

Many of the health effects from power plant pollution are a result of particulate matter, more commonly known as soot. The report, Dirty Air, Dirty Power, also cites a report by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) which determined that the average number of life-years lost by individuals dying prematurely from exposure to particulate matter is 14 years.

"This report shows that New Yorkers are paying the high price of unnecessary power plant pollution with their lives and health," said Jason K. Babbie, Environmental Policy Analyst for NYPIRG. “For the sake of all New Yorkers, our Congressional Delegation should tell the Administration exactly what the data clearly shows: their proposal is grossly inadequate for protecting us from power plant pollution."

Dirty Air, Dirty Power is based on an analysis by the EPA’s own air quality consultants using standard EPA methodology. In addition to the report, Clear the Air also launched www.cleartheair.org/dirtypower, a related interactive website that provides emissions and health effects data by an individual power plant, city and state.

The report and website compare the premature deaths that would result under the Bush administration’s air pollution plan, the existing Clean Air Act, and a bipartisan proposal sponsored by Senator Jim Jeffords to strengthen the Clean Air Act. According to the report, simply enforcing current law would avoid 4,000 more premature death than the Administration’s proposal, partly because it repeals safeguards in the law. The proposal that strengthens the Clean Air Act would eliminate over 1,000 premature deaths and over 2,100 non-fatal heart attacks in New York. According to the report, this proposal is more protective than the Bush administration's plan by more than 250 premature deaths and 550 heart attacks for New York in 2020.

"The Administration’s broken promises have resulted in too many asthma attacks, too many scary emergency room visits, too many lost work days, and too many lives cut short," said Peter Iwanowicz, American Lung Association of New York State's Director of Environmental Health "If ever there was a time to stand up and demand action, it is now."

In addition, the interactive website allows users to see how much smog, soot, global warming pollution and toxic mercury is being emitted in their state and by each power plant. According to the website, in 2002 New York’s power plants emitted over 1,000 pounds of mercury, a potent neurotoxin that can cause learning disabilities, developmental delays, and problems with fine motor coordination in children.

"This report starkly reveals the human cost of letting old, dirty power plants off the hook,” said Christine Vanderlan, Air & Energy Program Associate for Environmental Advocates. “The White House needs to get its priorities straight and protect Americans from needless disease and death.”

“The Bush administration knows how to solve this problem,” said Clear the Air Director Angela Ledford. “But instead of working toward cleaner, healthier air, they are allowing the polluters to rewrite the rules, weaken current law, and pass it off as progress,” she continued.

Abt Associates, the consultant EPA uses for its air quality analyses, performed the analyses for this report using standard EPA methodology.