Cleveland Hazecam: this is an image generated every 15 mins. of Cleveland’s skyline, showing how much air pollution is affecting visibility at that time. Click on the link above or image below to see Cleveland’s current haze levels!
IS WASTE-TO-ENERGY GOOD FOR CLEVELAND?
- CLEVELAND — “Six environmental and community organizations have asked U.S. EPA to undertake a formal review of the City of Cleveland’s draft air permit for its proposed garbage incinerator on Ridge Road, citing deficiencies in Ohio EPA’s draft permit and the City of Cleveland’s conflict of interest as both the proponent and reviewer of the permit. The groups — Environmental Health Watch, Earth Day Coalition, Northeast Ohio Sierra Club, Ohio Citizen Action, Citizens for Environment, Health and Justice, and Natural Resources Defense Council – also asked the U.S. EPA for an environmental justice designation for the community, which would require additional scrutiny of the proposal. They asked Ohio EPA for a 60-day extension on the public comment period for the draft permit, which now expires on January 13, 2012.
- Cleveland Public Power wants to build a $180 million waste gasification plant at the Ridge Road Transfer Station. The plant would burn trash and use the resulting released gases as an energy source at an undecided location. There are concerns that the proposed plant would negatively impact public health in the surrounding community by releasing toxic air pollutants and contributing further air pollution from the heavy truck traffic to and from the plant. The plant, as proposed, would become one of the top air polluters in Cuyahoga County. Read more:
- Ohioans Thank U.S. EPA for Mercury Pollution Protection
- Letter to Mayor Jackson against the Cleveland Garbage Incinerator
- NRDC Letter to Ohio EPA re: CPP’s Waste Incinerator Permit Application
- City of Cleveland Hopes to Spin Garbage into Profits with New Waste-to-Energy Plant (Plain Dealer article)
- Frank Jackson’s Trip to Japan Fuels Push for Trash Plant (Plain Dealer article)
- Full Meeting at Waste Gasification Meeting (10/12/11)
- Is Waste-to-Energy the Answer, or Does it Lure Cities away from Recycling? (GreenCityBlueLake article)
- Is Waste-to-Energy a Good Idea to Help Power Cleveland? (EcoWatch article)
- The Mysterious Mister Tien (Scene article 12/7/11)
- Campaign Launched against Proposed Garbage Incinerator (Ohio Citizen Action article, 12/1/11)
- Learn more about the waste gasification process
- Follow the proposed project
- Ohio Citizen Action’s Cleveland Incinerator page
- Earth Day Coalition’s Clean Air page
Map of the proposed waste gasification plant and the surrounding community:
DEFEND THE CLEAN AIR ACT!
The Clean Air Act, which has protected Americans’ health for the past 40 years, is now under attack by Congress. On Sept. 23, 2011, the House of Representatives passed the disastrous TRAIN Act, which weakens the EPA’s ability to regulate air pollution and protect public health. The TRAIN Act is considered the “most radical dirty-air legislation in the history of this country” and if it becomes a law, the act would set up an external committee to regulate EPA air pollution limits and require the consideration of economic costs to polluters over public health benefits.
- Read about the campaign to stop the waste to energy facility
- Tell Congress: Protect the Air We Breathe! (action alert)
- Read EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson’s Los Angeles Times op-ed ‘Too Dirty to Fail’?
- Read EHW Kim Foreman’s letter to the Plain Dealer urging Clevelanders to support the Clean Air Act
- See Channel 19′s news story on dirty air in Cleveland
- Read “Danger in the Air”, an Environment Ohio report that ranks air quality throughout the country
- Hear WTAM 1100′s radio story about Environment Ohio’s new report
- Read the press release about EHW and Environment Ohio’s press conference on the Clean Air Act and “Danger in the Air”
- Read WKYC’s article “Ohio 2nd in Power Plant Mercury Emissions”
- Read Environment Ohio’s report “Ohio’s Biggest Mercury Polluters”
- See CBS News’ article about the White House’s threat to veto the TRAIN Act
The EPA has created a data map that shows the benefits of the Clean Air Act in each state. Visit www.epa.gov/cleanairactbenefits/whereyoulive/ to see the benefits for Ohio.
On October 14, 2011, Environmental Health Watch hosted a press conference with the American Lung Association (ALA) announcing the ALA’s Healthy Air Campaign. Charles D. Connor, National President of the American Lung Association, Dr. John Carl (Cleveland Clinic Center for Pediatric Pulmonary Medicine), and Stuart Greenberg (EHW) were speakers.
Top Air Pollution Emitters 2008 (Cleveland)
- Arcelor Mittal (18,966 tons of emissions/year)
- CEI Lakeshore (6,758 tons of emissions/year)
- Medical Center Co. (2,603 tons of emissions/year)
- Cleveland Thermal (1,954 tons of emissions/year)
- Ford Casting (1,311 tons of emissions/year)
- Charter Steel (673 tons of emissions/year)
- DiGeronimo Aggregates (414 tons of emissions/year)
- Ferro Frit (222 tons of emissions/year)
- NEORDS (Regional Sewer District) Southerly Plant (181 tons of emissions/year)
- Advanced Energy Tech (141 tons of emissions/year)
Top Air Pollution States
Image courtesy of NRDC July 2011 report “Toxic Power: How Power Plants Contaminate Our Air and States“
Reports:
- “New Study Uncovers Additional $10.5 Billion in Annual Benefits and Nearly 80,000 More Jobs from EPA’s Proposed Utility Toxics Rule“
- All Ohio Air Toxics Report: Statewide Air Toxics Study (Ohio EPA, December 2010)
- Ohio’s Biggest Mercury Polluters: How Cleaning Up Power Plants in the State and across the Nation Will Protect Our Health (Environment Ohio, November 2011)
Air Pollution pages:
