[Archived] Federal Health Agency Warns of Potential Health Hazards from Exposure to Mirant Power Plant Emissions

City Press Release


	For Immediate Release	For More Information, Contact
	February 13, 2007 PIO# 037-07/jbh	Raynard Owens, Communications Officer, at 703.838.4300 Raynard Owens, Communications Officer, at 703.838.4300

FEDERAL HEALTH AGENCY WARNS OF POTENTIAL HEALTH HAZARDS
FROM EXPOSURE TO MIRANT POWER PLANT EMISSIONS
Toxic Substances Office Advises City of Alexandria to Provide Health Messages
for Vulnerable Populations

An initial review of modeling data for exposure to sulfur dioxide (SO2) at the Mirant Potomac River Generating Station suggests a hazard to vulnerable populations from short-term impacts, according to a federal report released last week by the Alexandria Health Department.

“Acute exposures to short-term SO2 levels estimated by air dispersion modeling of Mirant air emissions under current operating conditions may be of public health concern to exercising asthmatics and asthmatic children,” said the report, issued by the Federal Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) in response to a January 2006 request by Dr. Charles Konigsberg, Jr., Director of the Alexandria Health Department.

“You may wish to provide health messages to your community,” wrote Dr. William Cibulas, Jr., Director of ATSDR’s Division of Health Assessment and Consultation in Atlanta, Georgia. “Messages designed to educate teachers, parents, and children about the importance of recognizing and treating asthma and the hazards of certain air pollutants seem reasonable.”

The report’s findings were presented by Dr. Konigsberg and Lora Werner, Senior Regional Representative in ATSDR’s Philadelphia Regional Office, at a meeting of Alexandria’s Mirant Community Monitoring Group held Tuesday evening at Alexandria City Hall.

“As a health agency, ATSDR cares about these short-term impacts,” said Werner. “Based upon the modeling data, ATSDR believes there is a potential impact for health effects for persons living in proximity to the Mirant plant.”

“There is a striking consistency between concerns expressed in Dr. Cibulas’s letter and those raised by the City of Alexandria’s environmental consultants,” said Dr. Konigsberg. “We should move ahead promptly with ATSDR to determine how best to communicate these concerns with the public in a responsible and effective manner.”

“This is one more piece of strong evidence that Mirant’s continued operation of this outmoded, coal-fired power plant may be putting some residents at-risk,” said Alexandria Mayor William D. Euille. “The City of Alexandria will continue to pursue all available options to bring about the closure of this facility. I thank the Alexandria Health Department and the federal Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry for their diligence in analyzing the available data and bringing forward this recommendation.”

The Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) is a federal public health agency of the U.S. Department of Human Services. Its mission is to serve the public by using the best science, taking responsive public health actions, and providing trusted health information to prevent harmful exposures and disease related to toxic substances.

A copy of the ATSDR letter can be downloaded at www.alexandriava.gov under Latest News.

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