S.C. 11th on list of toxic-air states

Columbia -- South Carolina's coal-burning power plants belch out more toxic air pollution than their counterparts in most other states, according to a report released Wednesday by environmentalists.

The Palmetto State ranks 11th in the "Toxic 20," a list of states that released the most toxic industrial air pollution in 2009, the Natural Resources Defense Council says.

Toxic air pollution includes metals, such as lead and mercury -- the latter of which has rained back to earth, tainted Lowcountry fish and prompted state health advisories. Toxics also include acid gases that make breathing more difficult.

Electrical plants, namely those that burn coal, are the main sources nationally for many poisonous air pollutants and topped the list of polluters in most states. The NRDC's findings were released as part of a national campaign to raise awareness about looming air pollution rules that environmentalists say could be weakened by Congress. Of major concern are tougher mercury and air-toxics standards that have drawn opposition from electric utilities. Congress has taken steps to delay or possibly block the new Environmental Protection Agency rules.

"Power plants are the biggest industrial toxic air polluters in our country, putting children and families at risk by dumping deadly and dangerous poisons into the air we breathe," the NRDC's Dan Lashof said in a news release. "Tougher standards are long overdue. Members of Congress who consider blocking toxic-pollution safeguards should understand that this literally will cost American children and families their health and lives."

Using the most recent federal toxic-release pollution data, the NRDC report says electric utilities in South Carolina sent 11.5 million pounds of toxics into the skies in 2009. That represents about 43 percent of all the toxic air pollution released in the state that year, the NRDC report found. The paper industry was second at about 30 percent, the report said. The rankings were based on the total amount of toxic air pollution legally released in each state.

South Carolina has about a dozen coal-fired power stations, operated primarily by two utilities: SCE&G, headquartered in Cayce, and state-owned Santee Cooper of Moncks Corner. They accounted for most of the toxic air pollution outlined in the NRDC report.

Utility spokesmen said their companies have installed hundreds of millions of dollars in pollution control equipment in recent years. Among those are scrubbers and other equipment to keep polluting gases from reaching the sky. But that equipment has also controlled pollutants such as mercury, they said.