Ultrasystems, Inc. of Fairfax, Virginia has proposed to build a 79 megawatt coal burning cogeneration facility at the Port of Rensselaer. This area is already in toxic distress.
Ozone smog, acid rain, and global warming are all problems linked to the burning of coal for electric generation coal is a fool's choice of combustion fuel. Coal may be cheap by the monetary standards of fuel prices to the profiteering corporations, but the true expense of a dirty coal fired plant is extensive and beyond measurements.
Jutting out of the eastern bank of the Hudson River, the 325 foot tall emission stack would spew hundreds of different gasses and compounds into the air. These venomous contaminants would foul the air we breathe, the water we drink, as well as adding harm to the lakes, rivers, and land already overburdened with pollution.
Among the estimated annual emission from the proposed Ultrasystems plant would be: 3.6 million pounds of nitrogen oxide, 2.8 million pounds of sulfur dioxide, 2 million pounds of carbon monoxide, 1.5 billion pounds of carbon dioxide, 121 tons of hydrocarbons (such as benzene, phenol, tricholorethylene, xylene). Other emissions include heavy metals (lead, mercury, arsenic, uranium, silver, and chromium), boron, chloroform, and benzopyrene, a known carcinogen). Also produced by this dirty coal burning plant would be 240 tons of contaminated ash each day.
The citizens of Rensselaer and a large population of residents of the communities surrounding the city of Rensselaer would be directly impacted by this dirty coal burning plant if it is built. Lung cancer, emphysema, bronchitis, and upper respiratory disease are just a few of the reasons we should not burn coal.
The Citizens Against Coal-Burning is a grassroots group committed to stopping the Ultrasystems plant from being built. We encourage the involvement and support of all people concerned with this project, Please contact Franny at 462-6802 or Cathy at 489-8843.