The Environmental Protection Agency, also known as the EPA has issued a new health standard recently for the first time in forty years on sulfur dioxide emissions. Sulfur Dioxide has been known as a pollutant linked to smog and acid rain blamed for aggravating asthmas and other respiratory ailments.
In a study, the new health standards were said to create more than $13 billion to $33 billion dollars in benefits. The said benefits would include preventing deaths of at least 2,300 to 6,000 babies and preventing deaths of about 60,000 asthma attacks annually.
Although the estimated cost would be about $1.5 billion dollars to fully implement the program, the most important thing is we see visible returns on the investments. This is obviously an old problem in anew way, one designed to give all American communities the clean air protections they always deserve.
Meanwhile, about three fourths of the Sulfur Dioxide emissions come from coal fired power plants and 20 percent came from other industrial facilities. The program would likely mean higher cost for some utilities that may need to install equipment, such as scrubbers to control emissions of SO2 and other pollutants.
The effect may not be very clear though as certain states might develop compliance program with the new rule. Some utilities with older coal fired units have opted to shut downs instead of investing of new emission controls.
But the results seem prevalent as the Progress Energy projected that at least 11 coal burning power plants in North Carolina will be shut down. The company said the cost to retrofit and operate these plants more than 50 years old, will increase dramatically because of expected new environmental regulations. Also, annual average concentrations of the toxic chemical decreased by more than 70 percent since 1980.
States will have until 2014 to develop plans on how to comply with the new rule.