Indiana and Illinois are listed among the top 20 worst states
for air pollution caused by power plants in a report issued by
an environmental group Thursday, but leaders say the emissions
are rapidly improving. The report, "Toxic 20," issued by the
Natural Resources Defense Council lists Indiana as the fourth-
worst state for air pollution caused by power plants after
Kentucky, Ohio and Pennsylvania, respectively. Illinois ranks
16th. The data used to compile the list was provided by the
latest Toxics Release Inventory, collected by the U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency using 2010 data. The Toxics
Release Inventory is a national database of toxic emissions from
industrial sources. John Walke, NRDC's clean air director, said
the report showed air pollution caused by power plants in 2010
was down 19 percent compared to the 2009 data. The 19 percent
reduction includes a 4 percent reduction in mercury emissions.
Walke attributed the reductions to the increased use of natural
gas, which burns cleaner than coal a