If utility companies installed today's smokestack-scrubbing technology at their coal-fired power plants, it could save more than 150 lives a year in Greater Cincinnati and more than 18,000 lives a year nationwide, according to a report issued Tuesday by an environmental health coalition.

        But a utility industry group says the report is little more than a political attack against using coal for energy.

        The study, issued by the Boston-based Clean Air Task Force, reports that Cincinnati has the nation's 41st-highest death rate from power plant pollution from among 273 metro areas studied.

DEATH RATES

List below shows deaths per 100,000 adults traced to fine particle pollution emitted by coal-fired power plants. Cities reflect part of a list of 273 metro areas compiled by the Boston-based Clean Air Task Force, a coalition of health and environmental groups.     City<Rank>Deaths*    Gadsen, Ala.<1>59.0    Chattanooga, Tenn. <2>49.3    Louisville, Ky.<17>42.0    Lexington, Ky.<27>40.0    Pittsburgh <33>38.9    Cincinnati<41>35.7    Dayton-Springfield<57>32.2    Indianapolis <75>29.1    Columbus, Ohio <88>26.9    Akron, Ohio <101>25.4    Chicago <134>20.3    San Francisco <270>0.5    Reno, Nev. <273>0.4    * - per 100,000 residents          Source: Clean Air Task Force

        That death rate, 35.7 per 100,000 residents, means that 377 Tristate residents a year die from asthma and other health problems aggravated by smokestack soot. That's a lower rate than Lexington and Louisville, but higher than Indianapolis, Columbus and Chicago.

        “More people die as a result of pollution from these plants than from drunken driving or homicides every year in Ohio,” said Larry McAllister, president of the American Lung Association of Ohio.

        Fine particulate pollution describes particles so small they can be inhaled deeply into the lungs, where they can aggravate heart and lung problems. While such pollution also can come from diesel trucks and other sources, coal-fired power plants are the leading source by far, the task force report states.

        Ohio has 21 coal-fired power plants, but only four have been equipped with scrubbers to reduce sulfate emissions. The others are older plants protected by "grandfather' clauses in environmental regulations, said Kurt Waltzer, clean-air program manager for the Ohio Environmental Council.

        Scrubbers can slash nitrogen oxide and sulfur dioxide emissions, which contribute to formation of fine particles. But installing them can be costly. For example the scrubber at Cinergy's Zimmer power station in Moscow, Ohio, cost more than $300 million.

        While air pollution is a legitimate public concern, a utility industry group called Americans for Balanced Energy Choices criticized Tuesday report.

        “In the past 30 years, emissions of major air pollutants are down more than 30 percent, even though during that time coal use has tri pled,” said Joe Lucas, vice president of communications for ABEC. “Yet despite those decreases in emissions, childhood asthma has been going up. These are the kinds of things that make us doubt their findings.”

        Mr. Lucas said the Clean Air Task Force used unproven theories to make its death rate estimates, did not account for past improvements in air quality, and did not evaluate the economic impact of rising electricity costs caused by installing scrubbers of debatable health value.

        “Most people believe our air quality is getting worse, and that is not true,” he said. “We think (the task force's) interest is to remove coal from America's energy mix. And that in our view is the wrong way to go.”
       

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