e.d. edwards so2 plume map fact sheet

7/27/2019 E.D. Edwards SO2 Plume Map Fact Sheet

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Familis at RiskToxic Pollution Threatens Peoria’s Kids at their Schools, Parks and Homes

The E.D. Edwards coal plant in the Peoria metro area has

threatened local public health for decades. The state of

Illinois currently allows this plant to emit dangerous sulfurdioxide (SO

2) pollution at levels that would cause 7.5 times

the concentration of pollution our federal Environmental

Protection Agency (EPA) has deemed safe.

This pollution puts kids and other sensitive populations

at risk where they play outside, including public parks,

recreation areas and schools in the region, residentialareas and parts of Peoria’s downtown business district.

The plume reaches all the way to Morton and Chillicothe.

This map shows how far the plant’s dangerous pollution is

allowed to travel and who is at risk.

EAST

PEORIA

PEORIA

PEKIN

BARTONVILLE

MORTON

DUNLAP

CHILLICOTHE

Peoria

Methodist Medical Center

OSF Healthcare System

Proctor Hospital

Wildlife Prairie State Park

PekinHospital

THE E.D. EDWARDS COAL PLANT'S TOXIC SO2

PLUME PUTS PEORIA FAMILIES AT RISK

EDWARDS COAL PLANT

2 mi

4 mi

6 mi

All shaded areas are above theEPA’s one-hour SO

2exposure

limits when the Edwards plant

pollutes at its permitted levels.

1000

1490

(above limit)

(1.5x limit)

(2x limit)

(2.5x limit)

(5.1x limit)

(7.5x limit)

LEGEND

=SCHOOLS



sUlFUR DiOXiD POllUtiON

Sulfur dioxide or SO2

is a harmful air pollutant. The EPA

sets limits on how much can accumulate in our air. Sulfur

dioxide triggers asthma attacks, airway constriction, and

other respiratory problems.1 Exposure to sulfur dioxide

pollution for even ve minutes can make it hard for a

person to breathe and high levels of SO2

can send people

to the emergency room. This is especially dangerous for

the 39,000 people who suffer from asthma in Peoria and

Tazewell counties.

th .D. DwaRDs COal PlaNt POss a thRat tO

PUbliC halth

Coal-red power plants, like the E.D. Edwards plant

in Bartonville, are the largest source of sulfur dioxide

pollution in the country. Old, dirty, uncontrolled plants like

Edwards threaten public health by emitting concentrations

of pollution in excess of what the EPA says is safe. The E.D.

Edwards coal plant lacks modern pollution controls forSO

2and the plant’s uncontrolled emissions were analyzed

in light of the new, more stringent standard for SO2

that

reects the up-to-date scientic consensus on what levels

of SO2

present a risk to nearby communities.

Currently, the E.D. Edwards coal-red power plant

threatens Peoria and Tazewell county residents with

pollution up to 7.5 times the limit that EPA says is

required to protect public health. The US EPA has set the

National Ambient Air Quality Standard (NAAQS) at 196.2

micrograms/m3

, the maximum ambient concentration ofSO

2pollution in order to adequately protect public health.

The E.D. Edwards coal plant is permitted at rates that

result in air pollution concentrations of 1,498 µg/m3.

The plant poses a signicant and urgent health threat to

residents — particularly children, elderly and asthmatics

whose health is most at risk from high levels of SO2

pollution.

hOw was this iNvstigatiON CONDUCtD?

Environmental groups hired an air pollution control

engineer to gather the publicly available data needed

to run an air dispersion model called AERMOD, which

uses emissions information, plant characteristics and

meteorological data to demonstrate how air pollution

disperses from a source, and in what concentrations.

The engineer ran the model following EPA procedures

for evaluating the impacts of power plant SO2

emissions.

This does not reect the E.D. Edwards plant’s current air

permit’s extremely lenient 24-hour averaging time for SO2,

which allows hourly emissions to spike.

hOw DOs this Rlat tO th Pa sO2

NON-

attaiNmNt DsigNatiON FOR PaRts OF PORia

aND tazwll COUNtis?

Earlier this year, the EPA designated air in Peoria and

Tazewell counties as unsafe to breathe, requiring the

state to provide a clean-up plan for the area’s largest SO2

emitters. The SO2

pollution plume map shows that the

reaches of the pollution allowable from the E.D. Edwards

plant stretch beyond the EPA’s designated non-attainment

area, meaning that even more people are at risk.

what DOs th OwNR OF th .D. DwaRDs

PlaNt ND tO DO tO PROtCt PUbliC halth?

Ameren has publicly stated that installing modern

pollution controls would not be worth the investment at

the E.D. Edwards coal plant. Dynegy, the potential future

owner of the plant has no current plan to invest in SO2-

reducing controls if it acquires the plants, and has asked

the state of Illinois for permission to violate state law that

would have required emissions reductions across the

Ameren eet.

Corporate refusals to invest in cleaning up the Edwards

plant just underscore that now is the time to put

the Edwards plant on a path toward retirement. The

community deserves cleaner air and water and a safer

place to recreate and raise children. Ameren and Dynegy

must be up-front with the community and establish a

clear plan moving forward for the Edwards coal plant

that includes a reasonable phase-out date, ensures a just

transition for the workers, and a plan to remediate the site.

E.D. EDwarDs plant in BartonvillE



Sierra Club Legislative

50 F Street, NW, Eighth Floor

Washington, DC 20001

(202) 547-1141

Sierra Club National

85 Second Street, 2nd Floor

San Francisco, CA 94105

(415) 977-5500

website: bit.ly/cihcaweb

facebook: bit.ly/cihca

is sUlFUR DiOXiD th ONly POllUtaNt OF

CONCRN?

Far from it. The devastation caused by the coal industry

from extraction to disposal creates pollution and

environmental destruction through the entire life cycle. At

Edwards, several pollutants from the plant are a cause for

concern:

• mercur– Mercury is a potent neurotoxin that affects

brain development and is particularly dangerous to

children, infants, women who plan to have children,

nursing mothers and developing fetuses. Coal plants

are the number one source of mercury pollution in

the nation. One teaspoon of mercury is enough to

contaminate a 20-acre lake. The Edwards plant emits

more than 200 lbs of mercury each year.

• NOx– The health effects of NOx exposure range from

eye, nose and throat irritation at low levels of exposureto serious damage to the tissues of the upper

respiratory tract, uid build-up in the lungs and death

at high exposure levels.

• Oone- Ozone pollution, also known as smog, is a

powerful respiratory irritant that can cause an array of

health problems. At low levels of exposure, ozone can

cause coughing, wheezing, shortness of breath and

chest pain. At higher concentrations, breathing ozone

can lead to more serious effects, including lung tissue

damage, reduced lung capacity, asthma exacerbation,

as well as increased risk of hospitalization for asthma,bronchitis and other chronic respiratory diseases.

Recent studies demonstrate that ozone exposure also

may lead to premature death.

what DO CNtRal illiNOis RsiDNts thiNk?

At the beginning of 2013, a coalition of individuals and

organizations came together to form the Central Illinois

Healthy Community Alliance (CIHCA) out of concern

over the decades of pollution from the Edwards coal

plant. CIHCA is committed to creating a sustainable and

healthy community for Central Illinois. CIHCA is working

to retire the Edwards plant and transition Central Illinois

to a cleaner energy economy by reducing energy use, and

moving to renewables like wind and solar.

The Central Illinois Healthy Community Alliance members

include League of Women Voters of Greater Peoria,

NAACP Peoria Branch, Sierra Club Heart of Illinois Group,

Central Illinois Chapter of the Interfaith Alliance, Global

Warming Solutions, Peoria Families Against Toxic Waste,

Respiratory Health Association, Prairie Rivers Network, and

ICC Student Association for the Environment.

what CaN OUR COmmUNity DO?

• Educate your family, friends, and community leaders

and let them know why you value clean air and water

and want to see Central Illinois move away from fossil

fuels

• Write a letter to the Peoria Journal Star or Pekin Times

• Visit our website at bit.ly/cihcaweb for more

information and ways to get involved

• Stay up to date on meetings and events by liking our

Facebook page at bit.ly/cihca

NDNOts

1 Environmental Protection Agency: http://www.epa.gov/air/sulfurdioxide/health.html

e.d. edwards so2 plume map fact sheet

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