The
Toledo Blade
www.toledoblade.com
Citizen groups put focus on industrial
pollution
July 26, 2000
Cynthia
Hull receives an allergy shot every other week, and uses
two inhalers a day to control her asthma. Ms. Hull
of Toledo is a supporter of the Clean Air Act, and she
believes that controlling industrial pollution could make
her life easier.
"It seems as though making money is more
important to people than our health, and that needs to
stop," she said yesterday.
In an attempt to help people like her, Ohio
Citizen Action and Clear the Air Campaign gathered in
International Park yesterday at a mock power plant to
demonstrate the impact of pollution from dirty, coal-burning
power facilities.
The coalition used a power plant that is 20
feet high, 14 feet long, and 8 feet wide, with large smokestacks
labeled to show how power plant pollution affects Toledo
and Ohio.
"Coal-burning power plants are the single
largest industrial contributors to air pollution, hurting
both the environment and our health," Sarah Ogdahl
of Ohio Citizen Action said. "We know, for instance,
that smog triggers thousands of asthma attacks in children
every year. Last year alone, there were 8,400 hospital
visits in Ohio attributed to high pollution levels."
Hundreds of old, coal-fired power plants are
exempt from the air pollution standards in the federal
Clean Air Act, she said.
"These 'grandfathered' plants account
for the vast majority of smog and acid rain-causing pollutants,
emitting up to 10 times the amount of these pollutants
as plants that use newer, safer technology," Ms.
Ogdahl said.
The groups called on FirstEnergy Corp., the
parent company of Toledo Edison to clean up its plants.
In addition, they called on members of Congress to support
federal efforts to establish new pollution standards.
Power plants also produce large amounts of
carbon dioxide and poisonous mercury, Ms. Ogdahl said.
Garret Ball, outreach director for the Clean
the Air national campaign, is traveling to more than 90
cities to raise awareness. The power plant has been on
tour since April 24 and will make more than 90 stops around
the United States before September.
