I am privileged to represent Dauphin County as one of its three commissioners. But I’m most proud to be working and raising a family here in Central Pennsylvania. I was deeply troubled to hear the results of a new report that found the air that we breathe isn’t nearly as clean and healthy as it ought to be. It should trouble all of us. And it reminds us of the huge blow we took, from both a jobs and environmental standpoint, when we lost Three Mile Island last September.
The report comes from PennEnvironment, which reviewed data from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). It found that the Harrisburg area experienced 114 days of elevated air pollution in 2018, the second highest in the state behind the Lancaster area. That’s more than three months of breathing harmful air pollutants into our lungs. The report states that fine particulate matter from sources such as vehicles and power plants were responsible for an estimated 107,000 premature deaths in the U.S. in 2011.
PennEnvironment’s report cites Dr. Kelly Kuhns, Chair of the Department of Nursing at Millersville University who says: ”Most people understand that air pollution can increase the risk and incidence of asthma and other breathing problems. These risks are especially significant in our most vulnerable populations – our children and our elderly.”
Last year, as part of the Clean Jobs for Pennsylvania coalition, I along with thousands of central Pennsylvanians called on our state legislature to enact a law that would recognize and promote retention of the clean air benefits of our state’s five nuclear generating plants. Those plants produced about one-third of our state’s electricity and more than 90 percent of our state’s zero emission, carbon-free electricity. Sadly, our efforts were unsuccessful, and no action was taken.
As a result, Three Mile Island closed prematurely in September; its electricity replaced by air-polluting natural gas plants. As we said at the time, if you are concerned about your health, and that of your children and family members, this is terrible news, as evidenced by this new report.
The report outlines a number of steps that policymakers can take to improve our air quality and protect our health. One of those steps is to ensure that Pennsylvania follows through on a commitment to join the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI), which will reduce fossil fuel emissions from electricity generation. RGGI is a market-based program aimed at reducing carbon emissions, and Pennsylvania would become the tenth state to join.
Pennsylvania is the fourth-largest greenhouse gas emitter in the country. It’s time we take positive action to protect the health of our citizens, especially our children.
With the premature closing of Three Mile Island our air and our health will only get worse. And the future of our state’s four other nuclear generating stations is at risk. For example, the two-unit Beaver Valley Nuclear Plant near Pittsburgh is scheduled for premature shutdown in 2021, thereby eliminating another large zero-emission source of electricity.
Pennsylvania’s four nuclear power stations avoid 34 million tons of carbon each year. This is the equivalent of taking seven million passenger cars off the road each year. RGGI alone likely will not save them, but it will incentivize renewable and carbon-free energy production, including nuclear power, so it is at least a step in the right direction.
I urge our state lawmakers to support this positive, market-based policy to improve the quality of our air. Is there anything more important to our health than the very air we breathe?
Dauphin County Commissioner Mike Pries is co-chair of the Clean Jobs for Pennsylvania coalition.