For Immediate Release:
December 4, 1998, 10:00 am

For More Information Contact:
MJ Williamson, Florida Consumer Action Network
(813) 286-1226

New Report Shows Health Risks, Especially For Asthmatics, From

Dirty Power Plant Pollutants Are On the Rise

According to the report, air pollution kills more than 50,000 people a year in the U.S.- more than traffic accidents, breast cancer, or AIDS. The electric power industry is the largest industrial contributor to air pollution in Florida. Due to a loophole in the Clean Air Act, older power plants do not have to meet the same strict emission standards for smog-forming nitrogen oxide and soot-forming sulfur dioxide as newer plants. These older power plants continue to operate under this "lethal loophole," allowing them to emit from four to ten times more pollution than newer power plants.

The American Lung Association (ALA) of Florida is joining FCPC’s efforts to close the loophole that allows these power plants to continue to pollute, recognizing that this is a matter of public health. "Air pollution is a largely invisible health problem in Florida; but it is making Floridians sick and in some cases even killing us," said ALA regional manager Ed Tokarz.

Key findings of the report include the following:

	· Asthma is now the number one chronic childhood illness in the U.S. Every two minutes a child 15 years or younger is taken to a hospital emergency room for an asthma attack.
	· The prevalence of asthma rose 61% from 1982-1994, with a dramatic 69% rise in childhood asthma.
	· The death rate for individuals with asthma under the age of 19 has increased 78% from 1980-1993.

Americans suffer more than 100 million days of restricted activity each year from asthma. Medical and lost work costs are expected to rise from $6 billion in 1990 to more than $14 billion in 2000. Florida Medicaid spent more than $326 million in the last fiscal year to treat asthma patients in this state

"Air pollution costs society as a whole in health care that Floridians not only pay out of their own pockets, but also in lost work days and school absences," said MJ Williamson, an organizer for the Florida Consumer Action Network.

Florida had a total of 33 ozone alert days between April and August of this year, along with 221 violations of the new EPA eight-hour ozone standard. For the elderly, and people with asthma or respiratory disease, ozone poses a serious health threat.

"There are over 772,000 people in Florida who have asthma, including 188,000 children who are at serious risk when it is unsafe to work or play outside," said Tampa physician Dr. Bruce Schnapf, a pulmonary specialist at the USF Pediatric clinic. "Ozone pollution can be life threatening for these kids."

"There are people in Florida who already suffer every day because pollutants in the air have damaged their lungs," said Environmentally Challenged Group’s Sofia Metcalf. "People who breathe should not have to pay so that polluters can avoid the cost of cleanup."

By requiring Florida's six old coal and ten old oil plants to meet the same standards as today's newer plants, Florida could reduce its total air pollution by 20% for smog-forming nitrogen oxide pollution (NOx) and 65% for sulfur dioxide pollution (SOx). Florida's citizens may then find it a lot easier to breathe.

The Florida Clean Power Coalition is a statewide, non-profit coalition funded and directed by the Florida Consumer Action Network (FCAN), Legal Environmental Assistance Foundation (LEAF), Florida Public Interest Research Group (Florida PIRG), and the Project for an Energy Efficient Florida (PEEF)

Copies of the Report are available at the following websites:

www.fcan.org www.pirg.org/floridapirg www.lewisweb.net/creative