University:  Coal Plant Shutdown Unlikely

By Sean Meredith

Despite the environmental coalition’s efforts, university administrators say the coal plant will not be shut down.

Phil Gatton, director of Plant and Services Operations, said the university has done everything it can to ensure they use the cleanest coal burning process available.

The Environmental Coalition – a student run organization – has gathered 400 signatures during the past week in support of its Beyond Coal Campaign, meant to shut down the plant. The coalition plans to get  1200 signatures before approaching the university about a discussion on the plant within the month, said Jason Mischke, president of the Environmental Coalition.

Gatton said coal provides about 50 percent of electricity in the United States because it is readily available and cheaper than other energy sources such as oil or gas.

The university’s plant consumes around 50,000 tons of coal each year used to provide 14 percent of the schools electricity needs as well as steam for heating and power for cooling, according to the university’s plant and service operations web page.

William Sutphin, secretary for the Environmental Coalition and graduate student in geography from Bartlett, said the coalition wants to shut down the plant because people in areas close to coal plants often have higher levels of metal, such as mercury, in their blood and higher rates of respiratory disease such as asthma and lung cancer.

“A lot of students think of coal and they think of the old technology and it’s really not that way at our power plant which is run by computers and a very efficient process,” Gatton said. “We can’t just throw the plant away.”

The American Lung Association has partnered with the club and other coalitions which organize anti-coal campaigns across the country to address the issue of increasing rates of lung cancer and asthma associated with burning coal, he said.

Adam Reaves, a fulltime campus organizer for the Illinois branch of the Sierra Club – an environmental group stationed throughout the country that helps coordinate the campaign and raise awareness – said the club will engage in a discussion with university administration about the plant within the next few weeks. He said the club’s primary concern is the serious health crisis throughout the U.S. in areas where coal is burned.

“We know that continuing to utilize coal in the plant is leading to human health problems,” Reaves said.  “As it stands now, our proposal is to ask the university to address the fact that the coal plant is contributing to these health problems.”

Gatton said emissions from the plant are reduced as much as possible because of  continuous experimentation with cleaner burning processes and developments that come from the Coal Research Center.

“Our emission levels are significantly less than what a traditional boiler is,” Gatton said.

The plant currently breaks coal into smaller pieces than others, which are then mixed with limestone to help absorb harmful chemicals released when coal is burned, Gatton said.

He said this process allows coal to be heated at a lower temperature which reduces the amount of toxic byproduct from burning it.

The plant currently monitors its emission levels through computer technology which runs the operation as well.

He said the university does have a solar array and looked into wind power before but it can be costly to build.

Changing from coal to oil or gas would be costly for the university because prices fluctuate rather than stay at a relatively steady rate, Gatton said.

“We have to provide steam and electricity 24 hours a day seven days a week so you can’t become completely reliant on renewables at this point in time because of the availability issue,” he said.

Gatton said the university did look into the possibility of using wind turbine power but it is a lengthy process. He said a decision could be made this fall to determine if a wind turbine would be economically possible.

Sutphin said the pollutants students are exposed to would be eliminated if alternative power resources were used and the plant shut down.

“(Pollution) is happening to us, it’s affecting us, our children, our families,” he said. “I think people should be aware of how their lives are by affected by coal plants when alternatives can be used to minimize those risks.”

A 2006 study done by the Environmental Protection Agency and cited by Reaves said one-in-six women has high enough mercury content in their blood to pose a risk for birth defects in an unborn child. The Illinois fish advisory website currently has a mercury advisory warning people to only eat large mouth bass caught from Campus Lake once per week.

“I think a great example of the dangers of burning coal is the condition of campus lake, which is full of mercury,” Sutphin said. “Students are advised against swimming in it.”

Sean Meredith may be reached at smeredith@dailyegyptian.com.