•by Heather Shelby
This is a guest post from Albert A Rizzo, MD. Dr. Rizzo is the National Volunteer Chair of the American Lung Association.
There is a lot being said in the news lately about how leaders in Washington are working to weaken or even repeal basic clean air protections. This week especially, the debate over regulating emissions from industrial boilers and cement plants has captured headlines across the nation.
Yet, what all this boiler and cement talk really means to everyday people hasn’t been made entirely clear. Bottom line, serious public health protections are on the line. Industrial boilers and cement plants are the second and third largest sources, respectively, of mercury and other toxic emissions and directly contribute to thousands of deaths each year.
Industrial boilers are most often used to produce electricity at chemical and manufacturing plants, paper mills and refineries. These boilers operate by burning oil, coal and other dirty substances, which create a toxic by-product of soot, mercury and other harmful agents that are released into our airways in alarming volumes. Breathing these air toxics can cause serious harm to the circulatory, respiratory, nervous, endocrine and other essential life systems. Pollution from industrial boilers is also a known cause of cancer, developmental disorders and premature death......
thivest
No comments:
Post a Comment