Stanley Feld M.D.,FACP,MACE

I have been talking about the effects of “Dirty Coal Plants” production of pollutants that precipitate the onset of diseases such as asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, autism, learning disorders, and attention deficit syndrome to name a few. At the present level of pollution in America, it is estimated that diseases related to Dirty Coal Plants costs the healthcare system $34 billion. With the new Dirty Coal Plants proposed in Texas and the nation, the avoidable cost to the healthcare system could triple.

Everyone is talking about a “broken healthcare system” with out of control costs. Few are trying to do anything to fix it. However, one giant step in the right direction would be to decrease the pollution in the nation and avoid diseases and the costs to the healthcare system precipitated by the resulting pollution.
There are two potential solutions. One is to produce clean coal plants using proven IGCC technology. Utility companies in general and TXU in particular do not want to use this technology because it is cheaper to build and more profitable “Dirty Coal Plants”.

Market forces drive the motivation. However, government should set parameters that are in the best interest of the people and then market forces should drive the motivation.

Thomas Freidman in his October 20, 2006 column “ Make History Arnold” states; “The reason that Mr. Bush’s call a year ago to end our oil addiction has been a total flop has to do with a struggle in his administration between foolish market worshipers led by Dick Cheney—who insist markets will take care of everything—and wiser, nuanced policy makers who understand that government’s job is to set broad goals and standards, and then let the market reach them.”

In my opinion, I think Mr. Cheney’s heart is in the right place. However, I do not believe he sees the whole issue. Adam Smith was correct to a point. With appropriate government rules market forces can be more powerful than complete government control.

The government should have something to say about these “Dirty Coal Plants” for the health and welfare of its citizens. No one has said anything yet. It looks like our political system is also “broken”.
The second solution is embodied in a comment I received for my blog “Review. What I Have Said Recently” from Jay Draiman Director of US Gas & Telecom. It is a wonderful comment. Essentially, it says we need to redirect our thinking.

Americans are a very smart and innovative people. We all understand we need to decrease our dependence on foreign oil. We also understand the oil industry is not very interested in the concept of change. There are other industries linked to the oil industry. The automobile industry has a huge investment in oil dependent cars. All the automobile support industries might not be interested in reducing our dependence on oil because they could also be destroyed by a change in focus away from oil.

We have to decrease our dependence on fossil fuel because of what it does to our environment and subsequently our health. One could think that the healthcare system would be adversely affected by a reduction in disease burden if we decreased pollution. However the physicians mission to preserving the health of our citizens. We are all for decreasing unnecessary healthcare costs by decreasing pollution.
Therefore it is to the advantage all of these vested interests and many others to either keep silent or at least be passive in demanding a change leading to the elimination of our dependence on fossil fuel.
All of us have been exposed to the potential of the kinetic energy that surrounds us. I will define kinetic energy as potential sources of energy we have available to us that have not been harnessed and will not pollute the environment. These energies include wind, sun, water and biodegradable regenerating substances. Technologies are available that make this kinetic energy easy to harness. I suspect we have been very slow at its adoption because the vested interests of the powerful groups have legacy domains threatened by a paradigm change.

It would be interesting if some bright and innovative person like a Steve Jobs or Bill Gates figured out how to generate a paradigm shift to change the conversation. I do not believe it will be done by the present powers driving fossil fuel use unless our government wakes up and does its job.

Eight year old children do not know what a typewriter or a 78 record is. CD’s will soon vanish from the universe.

I think it is about time producing electricity with fossil fuel became the dinosaur it is. The paradigm shift will create a very different world just asl PC and IPOD have.

Repairing the Healthcare System should not be far behind. I believe the stimulus to these paradigm shifts will be the virtual communities of the blogosphere. People like you and me networking and demanding change from our politicians.

I do not think it will be done by our politicians unless we stimulate them to do the right thing.

Jay Draiman’s comment deals with these energies and deserves the spot light and not simply appear in the comment section.

Dr. Feld

Jay Draiman
Northridge, CA. 91325
12-26-2006

Wake up America!!

President Bush did when he was Governor of Texas.

Time for another news quiz: Which American state produces more wind-generated electricity than any other? Answer: Texas. Next question — this one you’ll never get: Which politician launched the Texas wind industry? Answer: Former Gov., now President, George W. Bush.
Yes, there are many things that baffle me about President Bush, but none more than how the same man who initiated one of the most effective renewable energy programs in America, has presided over an administration that for six years has dragged its feet on alternative energy.

He fell asleep when he became President.

Stanley Feld M.D.,FACP,MACE

I have been distracted from my main theme, the ideal Medical Saving Account as the vehicle needed to repair the healthcare system. I have been building the case for this system of self responsibility as the mechanism to repair the best medical care system in the world. The theme is patients’ must control their healthcare dollar to repair the healthcare system.

We must develop a system of incentives where provider prices are transparent and providers compete for the patient’s healthcare dollar. We must create a system where providers (hospitals, physicians, and other healthcare providers) are forced to become efficient to compete for the patient’s healthcare dollar on quality of care and cost of care. The result will be that healthcare costs will decrease and the quality of care will increase. This is the meaning of consumer driven healthcare.

The last few weeks have been spent on the “Dirty Coal Plants” TXU is proposing for Texas. These “Dirty Coal Plants” are being proposed all over the country because of the abundance of cheap dirty strip mined coal. Presently $34 billion dollars are wasted healthcare costs to treat illnesses resulting from the present levels of pollution. The healthcare costs resulting from the proposed “Dirty Coal Plants” in Texas and around the country could easily double and perhaps triple.

The point is that Dirty Coal Plants polluting the environment result in large avoidable costs to the healthcare system. These costs can not be controlled by the patient exercising patient responsibility.

Patients will be afflicted with unavoidable environmentally caused diseases once these Dirty Coal Plants are built and operational. The Dirty Coal Plants will be operational for the next fifty years. The illnesses and costs of medical care for these illnesses could be avoided if we do not pollute our environment.

One could look at building these Dirty Coal Plants as “man’s inhumanity to man in pursuit of the mighty dollar.” I have been amazed by how many people believe that the EPA standards are the state of the art, that the present EPA rules will protect us from pollution. If the levels were a concern the EPA would change the rules. Therefore, we do not have to become pollution experts. The EPA’s mission is to protect us from any environmental toxin that might be dangerous. We have delegated the EPA as our surrogate to protect us from pollutants that could harm us.

Unfortunately, this has proven not to be true. Two court judgments have gone against the EPA rules in recent months. The EPA has for some reason loosened standards of pollution since 2000. One should question why. Our advances in technology have given us the ability to decrease coal burning pollution markedly by building IGCC Coal Plants. Our advances in understanding the medical effects of pollution have demanded that we decrease our exposure to these pollutants.

I understand our need to reduce our dependence on foreign oil as an energy source. If the new Dirty Coal Plants result in an additional $68 billion burden to our healthcare system by avoidable disease healthcare costs, shouldn’t a prudent government be investing in creating incentives for renewable sources of clean energy such as wind and solar energy? At the same time shouldn’t we be investing in creating incentives for energy conservation? We could use the extra $68 billion saved to promote these efforts.

TXU claims there are other sources of pollution such as our automobiles. Shouldn’t we create incentives for automobile companies to decrease the pollution and increase conservation of fuel for our automobiles more than they have? Look at the impact of the Toyota Prius, without incentives. Toyota is not even an American company. Toyota has created a competitive advantage for their product. Other companies have been slow to follow with as efficient a product. In fact it seems they are trying to undermine the efficiency of the product.

America is a brilliantly creative marketing country. America has created many “hypes” in my lifetime. My first recollection was promoting cigarette sales even though the cigarette companies knew they were not good for us. I could not wait to be old enough to smoke a cigarette. Recently, it is flat screen high definition television. Congress has even taken time out from their busy work to set a deadline for digital HDTV.

Why can’t Congress create incentives for us to stop harming ourselves with environmental pollution? Perhaps there is not enough lobbying money in the effort.

Why can’t Congress get smart and use its creative energy to promote the health of our citizens, rather than bending to the vested interest pursuit of the almighty dollar resulting in more pollution and more medical costs to society.

It can only be done if the politicians, the government officials, and the government agencies are challenged by the citizens they are supposed to be serving. It is clear to me the evolution of the rules in our legal system and the institution of lobbying has removed citizen input for demanding what is in the citizens best interest.

The time has come to express ourselves. The citizens of Texas are trying to do that right now. However, we have a very refractory Governor Rick Perry and a very powerful corporation in TXU. TXU has not demonstrated any corporate community responsibility to date. I hope our legislative officials in Austin will be able to respond to the cries of the citizens and force this folly to stop!!

Stanley Feld M.D.,FACP,MACE

I could not understand why some intelligent people do not oppose the proposed building of 17 Dirty Coal Plants in Texas. They are not impressed with any of the information I provided in the last 5 blog posts.

Finally, it dawned on me. The issue is complex. We have been told Texas needs energy to grow and be economically progressive. Coal is abundant since we are strip mining the Powder Basin in Wyoming. The pulverized coal is the dirtiest coal available with high sulfur and mercury content. This is to say nothing about the controversy regarding strip mining and the effect that it has on the topography of the land.

Natural gas has gone up in price. We want to decrease our dependence on foreign oil. Coal is cheap. We have done little to support and subsidize renewable energy such as solar and wind. Why not? These are clean energy sources that we have in abundance. I believe an intensive effort by our country could go far to harness these potential energy source. Solar and wind could provide cheap electricity while stimulating the growth of the economy.

I had an epiphany as I sat and listened to the arguments in support of The proposed Dirty Coal Plants. There is an obvious disconnect between what seems logical to me and what I have heard.

The decisions for building these Dirty Coal Plants are in the hands of businessmen, lawyers, and politicians. Lawyers, politicians and businessmen should not make medical decisions. They readily admit they do not understand medicine. However when the EPA makes a rule that is the “law” and the lawyers’ and politicians’ job is to interpret and enforce the law even if the law is wrong or inadequate.

I am for free enterprise and a market driven economy. Texas is a bell weather state that has grown and been energized by free enterprise and the free market. I am proud of it.

However, the free market should not disregard the health of our citizens, our water supply, and our food chain. This is the corporate community responsibility that we as a state and as a nation must demand.

TXU considered that they received a mandate from Governor Perry to provide increased electricity to the state for its expected growth in demand and the growth of the state in the future.

TXU set out to answer that demand and applied for 9 coal plants in rural Texas. The plants were designed to comply with EPA rules. These Dirty Coal Plants supposedly comply with EPA rules.

One should ask two important questions. Are the EPA rules stringent enough for what we know about the pollutants emitted by the Dirty Coal Plants? Is TXU building the cleanest possible coal plants for the state of Texas?

I understand the arguments of TXU and the proponents of the Dirty Coal Plants. TXU’s goal is to provide the cheapest electricity to Texas at the lowest price. In order to do this they have to build Dirty Coal Plants because natural gas is expensive, and strip mined coal from the Powder Basin in Wyoming is cheap. The old technology of these Dirty Coal Plants makes them easy to build and will provide a good return on TXU’s investment. TXU claims to be a good neighbors and would not hurt us.

TXU claims that the EPA and the TCEQ (Texas Commission on Environmental Quality) are the scientists and make the rules. They are protecting us from TXU harming us. TXU is simply complying with the rules that the experts made. These rules are the law. The state and local government have to comply with the law. The statement eliminates a lot of thinking on the part of the citizens of the state. In short it says “just trust us”.

We have seen our administration, our government officials and government agencies make mistakes recently. These mistakes were made even though information was available to avoid the mistakes. The information was either not communicated or ignored.

We have been informed that the FBI and CIA have not communicated with one another in the past. Both agencies had the composite information about 9/11. The 9/11 terrorist attack could have been stopped if these two agency were communicating effectively. The lack of communication spans the watch of at least two federal administrations.

CIA intelligence about Iraq was either incorrect or defective. The new CIA had no agents on the ground. Why did we not find Weapons of Mass Destruction? If Iraq had them, where did they send them? We absolutely know they had weapons of mass destructions during the Gulf War. We bombed a munitions depot without knowing it. The result was we poisoned 100,000 of our own soldiers and countless Iraqis and Kuwaitis’ without knowing it until the Gulf War Syndrome was described by Dr. Robert Haley of University of Texas Southwestern Medical School a few years ago.

Why did our agencies not understand the geopolitical nature of post war Iraq to predict the recent chaotic events? I submit we did know but they were not communicated to the decision makers or the decision makers did not listen. How could our military make so many mistakes and our diplomats be so inefficient?

The Katrina disaster is another example of lack of communication or inefficiencies of our government agencies. Why was the Corp of Engineers was not listened to when they told the Federal Government how badly the levies needed repair or rebuilding? Why was FEMA not able manage and administer the orderly repair of the flood’s damage and the resettlement of displaced people. Some of those people still do not have adequate temporary housing.

How can one say the EPA rules are correct when on close reading they not only are contradictory but they continually delay the reduction in coal plant emissions with each subsequent set of rules since 2000? These changes in rules result in less stringent air quality controls. Are the emissions getting better for our health? They reduction in control of emission is occurring despite their own commissioned outsourced reports declaring the dangers of present control levels.

It unfortunate that the EPA rules contradict themselves. In 2000, the National Academy of Science was commissioned by the EPA to figure out the minimum toxic dosage of mercury. Their answer was .1 microgram /Kg per day. Therefore a 22 lb child with a growing brain exposed to 1 microgram per day would be receiving a toxic dose of mercury. An average fetus weighs zero to eight lbs. The placenta concentrates mercury from the mother and transports large doses to the fetus. Population studies estimate that 7% of our new borns are affect with abnormal brain development resulting in autism, attention deficit syndrome and degrees of mental retardation. The incidence is highest in mercury polluted areas. Seventy percent (70)%) of our mercury contamination comes from our presently operating Dirty Coal Plants. The human effects of mercury contamination are clearly dose response related. Some individuals are more sensitive to lower doses than others. There should be little to no mercury in the environment.

TXU claims these Dirty Coal Plants reduce mercury output from an average of 800 lbs per year for the existing Coal Plants to 160 lbs per year per coal plant for the new coal plant. TXU is very proud of this 80% reduction and so it seems is the Texas Commission for Environment Quality. TCEQ has granted TXU provisional permit pending the result of the fast tracked public hearings.

There are two problems. The first problem is 160 lbs of mercury converts to 72,480,000,000 micrograms of mercury emitted per new Dirty Coal Plant per Year. The 2000 report said you only need .1 microgram per kg per day of mercury for it to be toxic. The second problem is mercury does not go away. Therefore, year after year this dose is additive.

I also discovered reading the EPA’s literature that one of the by products of burning Powder Basin Coal is Uranium 238. The Uranium 238 is a great source for enriching nuclear fuel. The amount of Uranium by product is more than the minimum amount allowed for a nuclear reactor by the EPA. Yet the EPA does not require measurement of uranium as a by product by these new Dirty Coal Plants. What we do not know will not hurt us. Is that correct? I would think TXU is certain not to measure uranium in the sludge if it is not required to.

There are lots of defects in the EPA rules. Is it possible the rules are inadequate? I think it is likely. In order to clear all this up before disaster strikes again we need to slow the fast track permitting process. If we absolutely need to burn coal for energy, gasification plants are need. Coal Gasification Plants are not experimental as TXU claims. Coal gasification plants can reduce mercury emission by 94% of what the present proposed plants can.

I have not even discussed the toxic effects of sulfur, nitrogen, dioxin. The EPA has not even regulated CO2 emissions. The EPA’s inadequate regulations are going to be accepted by the judges, lawyers, businessmen and bureaucrats as the law despite the deficiencies in the regulations and grant permits to build Dirty Coal Burning Plants. Coal Plants we will bestuck with for 50 years.

The evidence to me is overwhelming. We need to change the law before we allow these plants built.

The EPA is our scientific surrogate. Yet it seems to be ignoring the scientific evidence that states the present regulation are going to harm the health of our society. Do you think the EPA is immune from making a mistake? This administration and other government agencies have made mistakes in the recent past.

It is pretty clear to me that we must speak up for our sake, our children’s sake and our grandchildren’s sake.

Stanley Feld M.D.,FACP,MACE

It seems as if it is very hard for the people’s voice to be heard in Texas. Contacting the Governor is harder than paying the water bill in Franz Kafka’s book “The Castle”. Even if we were listened to, we would not be heard by our governor. He still believes building the Dirty Coal Plants and polluting the state and cities in Texas is good for the growth of Texas even if the majority of the people disagree. Presently, Texas is in the top six for pollution. I bet these coal plants will propel us to “Number 1”. Governor Perry’s office called the opposition of the Dirty Coal Power Plants a liberal Democratic plot. I call it a refusal to understand the issue on the part of the governor.

The following quotes appeared in the Herald Democrat December 8, 2006

“Dozens of David’s lined up here (Bonham,Texas) Thursday (December 7,2006) to see if State Administrative Law Judge Kerry Sullivan would give them a rock to use in the battle against Goliath TXU.”

“Ranchers and those who have built wetlands and wildlife sanctuaries fear devastation of their land, ponds and trees from acid rain caused by sulfur dioxide (emission from the Dirty Coal Plant proposed in Savoy Texas.)”

In addition to sulfur, people in Fannin and Grayson County are going to be exposed to 72,480,000,000 billion micrograms of Mercury a year (160 lbs). All of this Mercury is additive each year. Mercury affects fetal and infant brain development with resultant increase in Autism, attention deficit syndrome and loss of memory in adults. Maybe the increase in Alzheimer’s disease is secondary to the increase in pollution in the country.

“TXU said the plant will emit 3,787 tons(7,574,000 lbs.) of sulfur dioxide each year, less than current coal-fired plants and within the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s limits.”

The lowering of these toxic levels of Sulfur and the resulting conversion to sulfuric acid when reacting to the air have be stalled by the Bush Administration. The administration does not believe in the existence of acid rain or the global warming resulting from excess production of carbon dioxide. This belief is held in spite of the abundance evidence for it effect. Nitrogen effluent will produce 1894 tons per year (3,788,000 lbs.) resulting in increased production of ozone. The particulate matter from the Savoy Texas Dirty Coal Plants will be 1515 tons( 3,030,000 lbs) per year. How many of us think this is healthy for the kids of North Central Texans in general and Grayson and Fannin County residents in particular.

However we, the people of Texas, will be stuck with the high levels for the next 50 years long after this administration is gone. I thought people were wrong when they said these groups of government officials were not compassionate. They are not compassionate and they do not listen to the will of the people.

“When the judge found there were more than 40 people who live within 10 miles of the plant at the hearing asking for status as individuals, he said, “I am required by law to hold this hearing in a way to have an organized process for the development of the evidence that will focus on issues and that can be cross examined effectively. And there is simply no way we can have this many active participants prepare for this hearing and then formally participate in it.”

“With all due respect to everyone, you are working within the parameters you have to work in,” Feld said. “I can see that clearly. What has happened is there is something wrong with the system of parameters when local people didn’t know anything about it (the proposed coal plants) and haven’t been able to express their opinion. With the rules that have been set up, Texas Electric (the former name of part of TXU) has said ‘OK, let’s batch everyone together and make it quicker.’”

This was a very good move on TXU’s part. TXU would love to shut as many people up as they can. What is magical about 10 miles? What is so wrong with educating your neighbor about the risk we will permit in our neighborhood? Presently we get 70% of our electricity from Dirty Coal burning plants and right now we are the most polluted in the country with mercury.

Large area lakes in East Texas are already shut down already to fishing because of contamination with Mercury. We do not want Lake Texoma to be contaminated. TXU’s response is “Who said the contamination came from the Mercury produced by the Coal Plant.” Where does the Mercury come from?

“Sullivan reversed strategy and reconvened the hearing. He let all those interested in joining as individuals plead their cases.”

Maybe someone will get the point that the people want to be heard and we want the coal plant project stopped! Governor Perry seems not to be able to visualize that if we live in a polluted state no one will want to live here. TXU will not have a problem because they will sell the excess electricity on the national grid.

We the residents of Texas will suffer and the government will say it made a mistake. We have heard that before, haven’t we?

Stanley Feld M.D.,FACP,MACE

Thank you, Brad Feld for encouraging me to start this blog a year ago. I had no idea RSS was so powerful.

While at Columbia College C’59, we were required to take a course called Contemporary Civilizations. A big take home point was that we as citizens have an obligation to contemporary society and future generations.

We have an obligation to our health and the health of future generations. This is the reason it is so important everyone of us step up and protest TXU’s 18 Proposed Dirty Coal Plants for us presently, our children, and our children’s children.

About a week ago, Harry Jaeger, editor of Gas Turbine World, posted a comment on my blog.

Two days ago, I heard the TXU representative present to the People and the City Council of Savoy, Texas (ground zero for the Dirty Coal Plant) the same, as well as additional half truths, about how clean the Proposed Plant will be. He reported on how experimental and impractical IGCC plants are. I researched the half truths recited at the Bells City Council meeting and reported only on the Mercury issue at 160 lbs per year in a previous posting.

I wrote to Harry Jaeger asking about TXU’s assertions about gasification plants. Harry Jaeger’s answer is specific and is published below.

Harry Jaeger’s comment should help the Texas Cities Coalition for Clean Air get standing at the permit hearings on Thursday December 14. Twenty eight cities throughout Texas have banned together to slow the process down and get clean air for all Texans. They have been denied standing in the hearing to this point on a questionable technicality brought up by TXU.

His comments might help some of the city and county officials near ground zero understand the issue of IGCC plants a little better. Hopefully it will encourage them join the Coalition to get a seat at the table to protect their citizens health and healthcare cost. They also have an obligation to protect our recreation areas and Lake Texoma.

Dallas Business leaders just formed their own coalition against the permit process and the Dirty Coal Plants.

The Dallas Morning News asked for a moratorium on the permit process yesterday.

All that is required is Governor Rick Perry call off the fast track. He should learn about the issue of Dirty Coal Plants and their implications to the health of Texans. He should see how it contradicts his promise to the people of Texas.

I know he would be opposed to these Dirty Coal Plants and their threat to the health of Texans’ if he really understood the implications to health and the cost to the healthcare system.

Harry Jaegers comment is published in the preceeding post. “What is IGCC? Are They Practical?” Thank you Harry!

Comment:

Dr. Feld,

TXU is using the same arguments against considering the cleaner IGCC technology that have been used by all utilities who are hell-bent on getting their conventional coal plants built before they have to face up to tightening air quality regulations that may include limits on CO2 emissions.

The main claims are that IGCC is not reliable and that it costs much more than coventional coal.

We find that the boiler manufacturers, who are enjoying a heyday these days, are providing a lot of the fodder that feeds such arguments. This is quite understandable, as IGCC would cut into their market just when the world is turning back to coal, and large coal-fired steam power plants to meet the growing need for energy.

Regarding the reliability issue, I find it a travesty that those who reject IGCC as unproven and unreliable still refuse to look beyond the US borders for their data. There are several commercial IGCC projects operating in Europe that are exhibiting plant availability levels well above the US national average for conventional coal plants.

Granted, some of these plants are using refinery wastes, such as asphalt, but the difference between using coal and these feedstocks is not that significant from a reliability standpoint. After all, proponents of PC plants will tell you that coal preparation systems are very reliable.

Also, if one looks into the data, including that from the US plants, one will see that most of the past problems with IGCC plants were due to the turbine equipment and not with the gasification system.

Both US plants (Tampa and Wabash) used early versions of the same model gas turbine that had many reliabiiity issues all over the world – not just in the two IGCC plants.

In Europe, an IGCC plant in Spain used another advanced-design gas turbine that also was the cause of most of the plant outage time.

Meanwhile, there are three or four plants in Italy, and one in the Netherlands, that used a more proven gas turbine design and were able to reach very acceptable availability levels within two or three years of operation.

A new IGCC plant in Japan has apparently gotten over its initial “teething problems” in only one year, and is operating quite satisfactorily.

With this experience behind them, there are European and Japanese suppliers, as well as ones in the US, who would supply an IGCC plant, and who would apply lessons learned from these earlier plants to make new ones even better.

In addition, the construction schedule for an IGCC plant should not be any longer than that for a modern PC plant. So it is not clear that IGCC technolgy would have a problem with meeting the real rate of load growth being experienced on the TXU system.

If an IGCC plant can enjoy the same “fast track” permiting process as being allowed for the proposed PC plants, there is no reason why the first plant couldn’t be online in 2011.

As for the other principal argument used against IGCC, that is, its higher cost, the issue today is that costs of large construction projects are escalating so steeply that it seems to be anyone’s guess what these plants will really cost. In other words, if someone claims that IGCC will cost, say, 20% more than PC plants, that is well within the uncertainty seen in current construction estimating.

Besides, we have been seeing some estimates for new PC plants coming in higher than most IGCC plant cost estimates, and they continue to climb.

In this regards, there was a study completed recently by the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) that was sponsored by CPS of San Antonio. That study did find IGCC plants to result in higher cost of electricity, but when one looks into its details, we found some questionable underlying design assumptions, as specified by CPS, that were the cause of most of the cost difference.

If EPRI were to do the same study over again, restating these assumptions to put IGCC on a more level playing field, we think that the results would be quite different.

Unfortunately, in the case of TXU, there was no parallel plant cost study performed in order to obtain a fair comparison of the two technologies. In the case of CPS, the study was done post facto, so quite naturally it could be expected to support the decision that was already made to go with conventional coal burning technology.

I’d fear that any similar study done by TXU, perhaps as might be ordered by the courts now looking into their plans for a new fleet of PC plants, would suffer from the same problem.

Apparently there is a third problem with IGCC that is raised by TXU, that being the claim that there are no suppliers who would guarantee an IGCC plant using low rank coals.

I’ve attended several conferences where the gasifier suppliers all say that they have the ability to use such coals in their gasification process – perhaps at some loss of efficiency and economy – as is the case of a PC plant as well. Granted that the case for IGCC is hurt somewhat with the use of poorer coals, but it is not so much for technical reasons as for economic ones.

TXU should be reminded that the demonstration plant that operated for a number of years during the late ’80s and early ’90s at the Dow Chemical facility in Plaqumemine LA operated on a wide range of coals, and mostly on sub-bituminous. The same gasification process is now operating commercially at the Wabash plant in Indiana and is being offered by ConocoPhillips (Houston) who purchased the technology a few years ago.

At the Wabash plant, the gasifier is co-firing coal with petroleum coke, which enhances the performance of the process and greatly improves the economics.

I hope that this information is helpful to you and to those who are urging the use of IGCC instead of perpetuating the use of PC technology which, as you have shown, promises to leave a long legacy of much higher impact on the air quality of central Texas, and on the health of your citizens.

Harry Jaeger
Gasification Editor
Gas Turbine World Magazine

Stanley Feld M.D.,FACP,MACE

It has been an interesting week for me. The week has been an exercise of an understanding of the legal process in American democracy. It has demonstrated, in my opinion, a flawed process of issuing permits for Dirty Coal Burning Power Plants in Texas. The result is the state government does not seem to protect the interests of the people who elected them. State officials are supposed to be representatives of the people. In this case they are not representing us well. We were unaware of the dangers of the proposed power plants to our health. As individuals the process makes it difficult to defend ourselves and easy for TXU to defeat the people of Texas. I feel like we are the stooges for their profit producing Dirty Coal Burning Plants.

I have also discovered that it starts at the top. Therefore one should never believe any of the campaign promises of any candidate. Governor Rick Perry promised us one thing and then fast tracked another. It seems to me he has no regard for the health of our North Central Texas community. He seems to have a high regard for the vested interest of TXU because “we need energy for Texas to grow”. We are not going to grow if we are the most polluted state in the country. It is possible that he does not understand the issues. However 15,000 of us have sent him letters about the danger to the citizens of our state. He has not responded. Probably the system did not get our pleas to him because he is a busy man. If he cares for the state as he says on his web site he would do what he promises to do. He should intervene immediately and stop the TXU fast track (railroading) Dirty Coal Burning Plants throughout the State of Texas.

On December 5 the Bells City Council joined the Coalition of Texas Cities to protest and stop the proposed Coal Power Plant 4 miles from Bells in Savoy Texas. TXU slipped its application on the proposed plant past most of the cities adjacent to the Coal Burning Power Plant without the proper information. Cites within 100 miles will be adversely affected. When you put all 11 plants together the state will be covered with soot and polluted with everything that is bad for ones health.

Somehow, the flawed hearing process is preventing a Coalition of 25 Texas Cities (with more coming on board daily) from having standing in the permit proceeding. The elected officials in these cities represent the people of these cities. They are acting responsibly as surrogates for the will of the people in their cities. Is it democratic to restrict the will of the people from being expressed? My answer is, it is wrong! What is yours?

This week I heard TXU’s public policy director argue the case for the coal plants at the Bells City council meeting. TXU’s published argument is lame. The presentation is worse. It is filled with sound bites that are half truths. The argument is crafted to have people think it is good for the growth of the area. In fact, it is bad for the growth of the area. Who wants to live in a polluted city?

The Savoy Valley Dirty Coal Plant is going to produce 160 pounds of Mercury per year. What does that mean? Let us do a little arithmetic. 2.2 lbs of anything is equal to 1000 grams. One ounce of anything is 30 cm3. It takes two ounces of mercury to contaminate a 20 acre lake. Each ounce of water weighs 30 grams. The density of water is 1 gram per cm3. The density of Mercury is 13.54 gram per cm3.

160 lbs of Mercury per year is equal to 72,727 grams. One ounce is 30 cm 3. Each cm3 of Mercury weighs 13.54 grams. Therefore, there are 405.2 grams of Mercury in one ounce of Mercury. One ounce of Mercury contaminates 10 acres of water. Therefore one years worth of Mercury from the Dirty Coal Power Plant contaminate the fish in 1,795.29 acres of lakes in North Central Texas. Mercury does not disappear so each year of Mercury contamination is additive.

The TXU representative Mr. Ross told us this is a clean plant because it has decreased the Mercury emission 80% from 800 lbs per year in older plants to 160 lbs per year. The 80% figure reduction is correct. However the Dirty Coal Power Plant is contaminating 1795.29 acres of our fish and soil each and every year. The TXU representative said we are trading in your 1974 truck for a 2006 truck. I told to him the 2006 truck is still a lousy truck.

Mercury does bad things to people as well as fish and plants. It has been found that the incidence of autism was 61% higher in contaminated environments as opposed to uncontaminated environments. School in the contaminated environment had a 43% higher need for special education classes. The result was a higher cost to the community. We know that Mercury inhibits brain growth. May be the increasing incidence of attention deficit syndrome in America is due to the increasing exposure to Mercury in contaminated areas. Maybe as people get older and are exposed to high mercury levels they lose brain tissue faster than people living in clean non polluted environments.

Dallas has been out of EPA attainment for 10 years. EPA compliance levels are too high according to the EPA literature and must be lowered. Yet our federal government has not lowered the levels to levels that will protect us. Dallas can not figure out how to lower the levels. After the new Dirty Coal Power Plant goes on line Dallas will never get into the artificially elevated attainment level. Some one is going to have to be responsible. Governor Perry has not responded the request for action from more than 15,000 letters voters have sent him throughout the state. .

How come? How come the same thing is going on all over the country? We are exposed to toxic compounds and get sick. Healthcare cost increase by 34 billion dollars. Insurance premiums are increased. The result is more people are uninsured. The $34 billion can be saved by our elected officials exercising a little civic responsibility.

TXU knows how to work the legal system to their advantage. They have spun the story to their advantage. We in Bells Texas are just ordinary folk who have little experience working the system. We have few funds to pay for expensive lawyers to defeat TXU. Our state and several local governments have not stepped up to help us out. Our Federal representatives have not stepped forward to help us and to date have supported the TXU application because of TXU’s promise of jobs and growth to the area. Who in the world wants to live in a polluted area where their kids could get asthma and autism?

Organic food farms, cattle farms and fish farms are going to be ruined in the North Texas area with this Dirty Coal Plants. It looks like our elected officials know what is right but do what is wrong for the people who elected them.

I believe part of the reason is because they are so “busy” in committee meetings that they make decisions on sound bites also and do not study the facts. We have to demand they study the facts. If they do not we have to kick them out of office. The ordinary citizen’s health is also going to be ruined. Some families in Bells have owned their farms for 150 years.

Below is the difference in emission between a Clean Coal Power Plant and a Dirty Coal Power Plant. TXU said at the Bells meeting there is no one applying for clean IGCC gasification power plants in Texas. I think that could be true. They also said they are too experimental. However I discovered there are 117 gasification plants in the world and 10 real North American Gasification Units. Three of the ten are in Texas. One of the three has been in operation since 1977. Please study the emission comparison from the chart below. The real issue is not the experimental nature of the plants. The issue is building the cheapest plant you can build to generate the most profit if you can get away with it because the people in the area are not paying attention. Where is TXU’s corporate civic responsibility?

Hooray for the Bells City Council and their standing up to TXU!
Sherman, Denison and Bonham have not seen fit to do the same yet. Few leaders in those cities have studied the issues deeply. I know their citizens will moan and groan after the plant is completed. We will all suffer the effects of the plant. These cities have to act now. We need to hold our elected officials responsible for there inaction.