The California Air Resources Board (CARB) released a study yesterday that says that PM 2.5 (fine particulate matter) is 70% more lethal than previously thought. See this article from the 5/22/08 Fresno Bee for details. The Eastshore power plant would produce extremely excessive amounts of PM 2.5, thanks to the use of technology normally reserved for car engines, not power plants.
Select quotes from the Fresno Bee article:
“In a grim announcement Wednesday, state officials said airborne soot prematurely kills up to 3,000 San Joaquin Valley residents each year, nearly triple the previous estimate.
The California Air Resources Board said a two-year public health study showed that PM-2.5, or fine-particle pollution, is 70 percent more lethal than scientists had suspected….
The debris is inhaled deep into the lungs, triggering asthma and other lung problems as well as contributing to heart disease. In the past decade, state officials had estimated it caused the premature deaths of more than 1,000 valley residents each year….
The new study reflects advances in medical research that have allowed scientists to better gauge the health effects of pollution.
In its study, the air resources board revised the statewide PM-2.5 mortality estimate from 8,200 annually to as many as 24,000.
Bart Croes, chief of the state air agency’s research division, said the study probably could be used to help push for lower PM-2.5 health thresholds. The federal level is 15 micrograms per cubic meter.
Many scientists believe people would be safer at half that level, but it will take more research to establish a lower figure.
“We really don’t know what the health-protection level is,” Croes said.”“
Given this new data, coming from the state air board itself, it would be completely unconscionable for the California Energy Commission to approve the Eastshore power plant to be placed literally a block away from residents. If they admit they don’t know what a safe level is, how can they tell us that it is safe?