The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released a proposed rule on June 2 outlining the Obama Administration's effort to reduce the nation's dependence on coal, slow global warming, and encourage the use of renewable, less-polluting energy sources.
The proposed rule intends to reduce 2005 emission levels by 30 percent by 2030. Coal-fired power plants are its main target; if reached, it will reduce pollution from coal to the tune of 730 million metric tons.
States will be expected to draw up their own plans to meet this target, giving a level of flexibility conservatives should welcome. Instead, many plan to ignore them, as Texas' Governor Rick Perry is apparently planning, or fight them through their Congressional delegations and in the courts a la Obamacare.
Coal is Already Phasing Out in Many States
Coal is already on its way out in many states. Many favor solar, wind, hydro, and nuclear power. Washington, for example, has only one coal-fired plant and relies on hydroelectric power. In New York, where some plants date to the late 1800s, modernization plans don't include coal, thanks to a Supreme Court ruling that upheld an EPA order for the state to cut emissions that drift to states downwind.
In addition, many of the nation's coal plants are aging. Sourcewatch estimates that 95 percent of them will be 45 years or older by 2029, the EPA's target year. Will states even want to build new coal plants instead of reliable, lower-polluting energy sources?
How Asbestos Was Defeated
Environmentalists and others who support the proposed EPA rule should look back at the lessons learned from the asbestos bans that began in the 1970s.
Asbestos is a chemical that was once widely used in construction. From homes to factories to ships and airplanes, asbestos was prized for its excellent insulating and sound-proofing qualities. Problem was, it was found to cause cancer. It is the only known cause for mesothelioma, a rare form of cancer found in the linings around organs in the chest, especially the lungs, and abdomen.
Like coal, asbestos is mined from the earth and its threat to public heath was similarly well-documented, starting in the 1920s. By the end of the 1960s, breathing in asbestos dust or fibers for long periods of time was understood as the sole cause for mesothelioma. Shipbuilders and construction workers have historically had unusually high rates of the disease, with many becoming ill decades after they were first exposed to asbestos.
The fight against asbestos was taken up by new agencies charged with protecting public health and the health of workers. 1970 saw the creation of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, and the Environmental Protection Agency. All were signed into law by President Richard Nixon, who was also fighting a War on Cancer.
It was the same EPA proposing to cut coal plant emissions that put in the first asbestos ban in place in 1973, against spray-on asbestos used for fireproofing and insulation. Two years later, it banned asbestos in pipe insulation--a common practice--and added more bans against asbestos spray-on products in 1978.
In 1978, the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) banned asbestos products used by consumers--not workers--such as patching compounds and gas-fired fireplaces. Manufacturers of electric hair dryers voluntarily removed asbestos from their products.
In 1990, the EPA concluded its fight against asbestos by prohibiting spray-on products that had one percent or more of asbestos.
Asbestos remains legal but under limited use. It's still permitted in many construction materials and car parts. A comprehensive ban in 1988 that included them was overturned by the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals.
Like today's coal companies, companies that mined and used asbestos in their products resisted efforts to control its use. In fact, in 1973, the year that saw its first ban, US consumption of asbestos topped out at 804,000 tons.
Lessons from Asbestos Can Apply to Coal
Public information campaigns helped raise awareness of asbestos' dangers, fueled by a sudden rise in mesothelioma cases and deaths that began around 1970. According to information from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 1,000 people died from the disease that year. Ten thousand died in 2004.
Today, about 3,000 new cases are diagnosed each year, according to the National Cancer Institute. Because the disease is difficult to diagnose in its early stages, mortality rates are high and most patients die within a year or two of diagnosis. It also surfaces decades after exposure, so it disproportionately impacts older people.
What are the statistics related to prolonged exposure to coal? Black lung disease, which is caused by inhaling coal dust (much as mesothelioma is caused by inhaling asbestos dust and fibers) kills about 1,500 ex-miners every year, according to the Union Mine Workers. There are no treatments. (There are relatively few mesothelioma treatments although some promising new ones are emerging.)
Most alarming are reports that black lung rates are rising after decades of falling, according to an analysis by the Lexington Herald-Leader. A 2005-09 study found nine percent of miners in Kentucky, eight percent in Virginia, and almost five percent in West Virginia had the disease. It had bottomed out at two percent in 1999.
Miners and safety advocates told the Herald-Leader that companies routinely cheat on dust samples they submit to federal inspectors. Long ago, in 1991, the US Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) cited more than 840 companies for this kind of cheating. Three hundred of them were in Kentucky.
More recently, in March 2013, MSHA issued almost 150 citations against companies for excessive underground dust and almost 340 more over non-existent ventilation plans. Last May, it even shut down a mine for over three weeks after discovering there was virtually no air movement underground, plus other safety violations.
Many miners also work longer shifts, up to 12 hours, and on thinner seams which requires more cutting into rock. Compounded with poor air quality, it really isn't a surprise that more black lung is diagnosed.
And that's the key. If air pollution isn't alarming enough, perhaps the personal stories of miners with black lung and the sheer number of them will help publicize coal's danger. Coupled with some photos of black smoke belched from power plants, advocates for clean air and health can take back the debate. This is more than an economic issue. After all, if the only job in town will eventually kill you, shouldn't there be other options from the job creating class?
