Burning Coal Emits Dangerous Pollutants
Your June 13 editorial "The EPA's War on Jobs" claims that the EPA's proposed rule to reduce the level of toxic emissions from coal-fired power plants is a "destructive weapon." You disregard the serious, documented, long- and short-term health effects of exposure to mercury, particulate matter and other air pollutants emitted by burning coal.</br></br>EPA's proposed rule is a welcome step in safeguarding the public's health from these dangerous air pollutants that can worsen asthma and other respiratory diseases; cause heart attacks, cancers and stroke; and exact an enormous economic toll in terms of health-related costs and lost productivity. The EPA should be congratulated for following the clear evidence in cleaning up these toxins from the air we breathe and protecting the health of the American people. After all, unhealthy people cannot work.</br></br>Georges Benjamin, M.D.</br></br>Executive Director</br></br>American Public Health Association