Aging power stations in Fredericksburg area are polluting more, according to environmental group's newly released report.

By RUSTY DENNEN

Date published: 1/28/2005

Some of Virginia's aging power plants, including several surrounding Fredericksburg, are dirty and getting dirtier when it comes to certain airborne pollutants.

But according to a report released yesterday by the U.S. Public Interest Research Group, there's also a silver lining: Some power stations are making progress in reducing harmful byproducts.

The report uses Environmental Protection Agency data on tons of of carbon dioxide, sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide released from 1995 to 2003.

"Virginia is kind of in the middle of the pack" when it comes to polluting, older power plants, Debra Gemme, a U.S. PIRG spokeswoman, said yesterday. "There are a lot of old, coal-fired plants in the Eastern U.S., and Virginia does have quite a few."

People living near the plants should be aware of the problem, she said, "because of the health issues associated with the pollution.Children are especially at risk and susceptible to getting asthma early on."

According to the American Lung Association, power plant pollution causes about 1,000 deaths annually in Virginia. It also leads to more than 140,000 lost work days and 23,700 asthma attacks.

The federal Clean Air Act has put a spotlight on power plant emissions.

Last April, the EPA added Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania County to its air-quality nonattainment list. They joined Stafford County, which like Northern Virginia is subject to vehicle, business and industry emissions controls.

The Clean Smokestacks bill, supported by a coalition of environmental groups, is wending its way through the General Assembly. That measure would cut pollution from the state's 15 dirtiest power plants.

However, the Clear Skies bill, introduced in Congress Wednesday, would replace much of the Clean Air Act with the Bush administration's more industry-friendly policies, environmentalists say. The bill would ease controls on power plants and allow their owners to buy or trade rights to higher emission levels, so long as nationwide caps are maintained.

According to yesterday's report, nine power plants, including one in nearby Maryland, had more carbon dioxide emissions over the period.

Among those were the Mirant-owned Morgantown plant on the Potomac River in Charles County, Md., at the foot of the Potomac River Bridge; the company's Potomac River plant in Alexandria, and Dominion Virginia Power's Chesterfield plant outside Richmond.

Date published: 1/28/2005