Austin PSR Says No to Coal

December 2010 Update:

The Texas state administrative law judges have recommended again that TCEQ deny this air permit!  The judges recommend denial based on the planned high level of particulate matter air pollution that the plant will emit. Particulate matter is associated with asthma exacerbations and cardiovascular disease. Austin PSR strongly encourages the TCEQ commissioners follow the recommendations of its own state administrative judges and deny this air permit for the Las Brisas plant.

TCEQ remanded the permit back for one more review with administrative law judges, but it is likely to be reviewed and approved, in spite of the fact that many entities believe the permit to be a bad one. Austin PSR will continue its efforts to protect the health of Texans from the harmful effects of coal-burning plants.

Here is Dr. Doggett's statement:

"I am here today as a physician to highlight the often overlooked, yet vitally important health effects of bringing more polluting power plants, like the proposed Las Brisas plant, to Texas.  I am a family physician here in Austin and the Board President of Austin Physicians for Social Responsibility.

Coal and petroleum coke burning power plants are a major threat to the health of Texas residents. These plants emit fine particle pollution, toxic mercury, and smog-forming NOx (nitrogen oxides) and sulfur dioxide.  Each of these substances has been linked to adverse health outcomes. Perhaps even more worrisome is the fact that these plants contribute to our state’s unfortunate distinction as the number 1 emitter of carbon dioxide in the nation which, of course, is an important cause of global warming.

As a physician, I am gravely concerned about the proposal to build even one more coal plant in our state.  Many others in the medical community share this concern because they know the impact of coal on our fellow Texans and our own families.  Coal pollutants affect all major body organ systems.  They are linked to four of the top five leading causes of death in our state including heart disease and cancer.  Air pollution from coal leads to tens of thousands of deaths and millions of lost work days each year.  The Las Brisas plant, in particular, is a risky proposition given its planned location in an urban area, where more people are likely to be affected by the toxins that spew from its smoke stacks.  In fact, there are 28,000 school children within a 5 mile radius of the proposed plant.

Furthermore, global warming may be the biggest public health challenge facing us today.  According to the World Health Organization, climate change caused an estimated 150,000 deaths in the year 2000.  Millions of other people got sick.  Global warming causes more severe and frequent storms, more mosquito and rodent borne diseases, poorer air quality, and changes to our food and water supply.  We are long overdue to shift our reliance on fossil fuels to cleaner, renewable energy sources to reduce the impact of global warming.  The Las Brisas power plant is a big step in the wrong direction.

More immediately, as a result of pollution from plants like Las Brisas, we can expect more frequent and severe asthma attacks, more strokes, and worsening of heart and lung problems. Patients with asthma and chronic lung disease already crowd the waiting room of my clinic and emergency rooms across our state. My last patient yesterday afternoon was a woman in her 50s struggling with asthma.  She told me about how the hot weather makes her symptoms worse.  Another patient I saw yesterday has emphysema – she is a non-smoker but grew up in heavily polluted cities.  Her exposure to pollutants is almost certainly the reason for her chronic lung disease.  Health consequences like these from power plant pollution far outweigh any economic benefit.

Breathing is not optional.  Cleaning up our air should not be optional either.  We can’t afford to wait any longer to take action.  People are dying now, even here in Austin, in Corpus Christi and across Texas because of power plant pollution. 

Austin Physicians for Social Responsibility urges the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality to deny the permit for the Las Brisas plant in order to ensure a Quality Environment for residents of Corpus Christi and across our state."

Other comments not included but also pertinent:

Nitrous oxide and sulfur dioxide contribute to fine particle pollution and Nitrous oxide contributes to ozone formation. In a state with over one million people with asthma, we need to carefully regulate these known triggers.  Around our state, emergency rooms are crowded with both kids and adults with asthma and other heart and lung problems.

Recent reports indicate that in Texas 1,160 premature deaths and 33,987 asthma attacks per year are due to particle pollution.  Nationally, there are more deaths from pollution than from drunk driving and more deaths from pollution than from murders.  You don't have to be a doctor to know that brown haze is not good for your lungs.

Breathing is not optional.  Cleaning up our air should not be optional either.  We can't afford to wait any longer to take action.  People are dying now, even here in Austin, because of power plant pollution.  We have the technology to fix this problem.  What is lacking is the political will.