The Tampa BAY UNA shares the concerns of Physicians for Social Responsibilty re: health hazards of Coal Power Plants.

Below is an OPED article by Tampa Bay resident and UNA Tampa Bay member Dr. Donald Mellman.

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OP-ED

November 25, 2008

Contact: Donald L. Mellman, MD, MPH, MBA

T: 813 205 2702, F: 813 354 3623

dmellman@post.harvard.edu

The Tampa Bay Chapter of Physicians for Social Responsibility (PSR) is very concerned about an unspoken public health issue affecting the citizens of the Tampa Bay Region, including the City of Tampa:: the pollution from TECO’s coal powered plants. We suggest an inserted clause in the proposed Franchise Agreement between TECO and the City of Tampa could reassure the public their health will not be further compromised over the life of the Franchise.

Because of the TECO power plants, the citizens of Tampa Bay may well be part of the American Lung Association’s 2007 estimate of more than 54 million people who live in regions with harmful year-round levels of particulate matter.  TECO has documented its concern in its 2005 white paper, “Vision and Commitment: an Environmental Report.” TECO’s understanding of the situation and its acceptance of accountability and responsibility are evident when it writes of its efforts to take “significant steps to dramatically reduce its air emissions through a series of voluntary actions, including technology selections, a responsible fuel mix that takes into account price and availability impacts to its customers, and a significant capital expenditure program to add emissions controls.”  Importantly, it continues: “Our values as a company mean that we must take a lead role in activities that protect the environment: the air, land, and water that comprise our service territory.” We applaud TECO’s good corporate citizenship in honoring its commitment to improving the public’s health.

The problem is this: TECO uses coal to power its Big Bend Power Station (100% coal-fired) and its H.L. Culbreath Bayside Power Station (60% coal and 40% natural gas). From inhaling the particulate matter produced at these two stations, Tampa Bay citizens are exposed to a wide range of adverse health conditions, including asthma, lung tissue damage, stroke, heart attack, and premature death.  A 2000 study by Abt Associates estimated that particulate matter from coal plants is responsible for nearly 24,000 deaths each year in the U.S.

While coal is touted to be a cheap source of power, it becomes the most expensive when the adverse health effects are factored in. Coal plants remain the single largest manufactured source of sulfur dioxide, mercury, and toxic emissions and the second largest source of nitrogen oxide pollution.  Moreover, once emitted, these compounds combine to form “secondary pollutants,” such as ozone and particulate matter that pose an equally significant threat to public health.” In 1998 EPA smoke stack tests, coal plants were found to release 67 different air toxics, many of which are known or probable human carcinogens and neurotoxins that can harm brain development and damage lungs and airways. Unborn children and infants are especially vulnerable to the toxic effects of mercury, which causes brain damage, learning disabilities and attention deficit disorders. 

Finally, the carbon dioxide emissions from coal-fired power plants significantly contribute to global warming. This creates a completely different set of public health catastrophes. Tampa Bay’s proximity to the Gulf, with its rising sea levels from global warming, makes us primary victims of these problems.  

PSR is the U.S. affiliate of International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War, which was a recipient of the 1985 Nobel Peace Prize. Its mantra is to prevent what cannot be cured.  Specifically, PSR focuses on global warming, toxins in the environment, nuclear weapons, and social and economic equity.  

The debate over the proposed Franchise Agreement between the city of Tampa and TECO offers an opportunity to codify a commitment to improve Tampa Bay’s public health. We would like a clause inserted that states these health concerns and formalizes willingness, over the life of the franchise, for the parties to work together to improve the local environment by consideration of any progressive changes in technology that become available. 

Individually, each of the parties has previously formally promised to do this. In addition to TECO’s formal White Paper, Mayor Iorio is a signatory to the US Conference of Mayors Climate Protection Agreement and the City Council is on record as supporting positive environmental change, not the least of which is Councilman Miranda’s frequent challenge to the citizens to match his decrease in his TECO monthly bill. 

Those who live, exercise and enjoy the beauty on Davis Islands, Harbour Island and The Bayshore can literally and figuratively see (and breathe) the health problems in the plumes from the stacks of TECO’s Big Bend and Bayside Plants. However, all the people of Tampa Bay are directly affected by TECO’s use of coal. Our local economy is threatened by the resulting burden to our healthcare system and the health of the work force. This issue is so important to our citizens that Tampa and TECO leadership must formally recognize and work in concert to minimize the adverse public health impact of this Franchise.

Physicians for Social Responsibility – Tampa Bay

Lynn Ringenberg, MD; President

Donald L. Mellman, MD, MPH, MBA; Vice-President