{"id":2432,"date":"2011-02-01T13:03:24","date_gmt":"2011-02-01T18:03:24","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.l-a-k-e.org\/blog\/2011\/02\/biomass-health-benefit-myth.html"},"modified":"2011-02-01T13:03:24","modified_gmt":"2011-02-01T18:03:24","slug":"biomass-health-benefit-myth","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.l-a-k-e.org\/blog\/2011\/02\/biomass-health-benefit-myth.html","title":{"rendered":"the myth that biomass constitutes a “health benefit” –Dr. Noll"},"content":{"rendered":"A followup to his\n\npresentation at LCC last Tuesday<\/a>.\n-jsq\n
\n\n<\/a>\nDate: Wed, 26 Jan 2011 21:59:50 -0500\n
\nFrom: noll_family\n
\nTo: apaulk@lowndescounty.com, jevans@lowndescounty.com,\nrraines@lowndescounty.com, cpowell@lowndescounty.com\n
\nCC: kay.harris, “John S. Quarterman”\n
\nSubject: Last Night’s Meeting\n

\nDear Chairman Paulk and Commissioners.\n

\nThanks for providing my wife and I and others opposed to the biomass\nplant the opportunity to address you last night. As a follow-up to last\nnight’s meeting, let me share some thoughts with you,\nincluding reflections on a comment made about other “biomass\nincinerators” in our county and the continuing myth that biomass\nconstitutes a “health benefit”:\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n

\n
    \n
  1. \nPCA and ADM indeed have a “biomass incinerator” and both are ranked\nas top polluters in the county. For all practical purposes everyone who\nhas a fireplace has a “biomass incinerator”, but let’s not loose sight\nof some important points:\n

    \nPCA and ADM are existing businesses employing hundreds of people. Their\n“biomass incinerator” is supplementing their energy needs, getting rid\noff “waste”, and is not meant to provide electricity for the community\nat large. Particularly the pollution PCA has created in the past has\nbeen enormous, but improvements have been made to the filtering\ntechnology over the years, as the EPA enforced new regulations. WACE has\nbeen aware of these “biomass incinerators” for some time, but we did not\ntouch upon the topic to avoid speculations that we might also “attack”\nthese businesses. We have no intention of doing so. These are\nestablished businesses, employing hundreds of people.\n

  2. \nWACE is opposed, though, to the proposed Wiregrass Power biomass\nincinerator. Why? Lowndes County already has air quality issues and is\nranked as one of the most polluted counties in Georgia:\n

    \n\nhttp:\/\/scorecard.goodguide.com\/community\/index.tcl?zip_code=31602&fips_county_code=13185&set_community_fipscode_cookie_p=t<\/a>\n

  3. \nWhile some improvements may have been made since this air pollution\nscore card was published in 2002, the proposed biomass plant would add\nsignificant amounts of pollutants to our already polluted air:\n