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Source: http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=16377517&BRD=2626&PAG=461&dept_id=530483&rfi=6
Plant subject of concern by SCI Mahanoy officer Opinion 03/26/2006 To the Editor: I am writing to you about my concerns of the Gilberton coal-to-fuels and power project. I am employed at the Mahanoy State Correctional Institution and have received the Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for this project and find it very disturbing. It is very misleading and often does not state the truth. The EIS states that no additional air emissions would occur and that impacts would remain unchanged from existing conditions. Then the report goes on to state that Schuylkill County currently experiences a higher average death rate than surrounding counties and Pennsylvania as a whole. Therefore, any increase in regular air emissions could potentially be harmful to sensitive members of the general population. When operational, this plant will emit mercury, beryllium, sulfuric acid mist, hydrochloric acid, hydrofluoric acid, benzene, arsenic, sulfur dioxide, carbon monoxide and other hazardous air pollutants in the atmosphere. This doesn’t make sense. The EIS continues to state that the Mahanoy state correctional institution is a sealed facility in which inmates and employees would not be exposed to outside air except during periods of outdoor activity. This is not true. There is not one building on the grounds of the Mahanoy State Correctional Institute that is airtight. We have staff who work outdoors during the entire work day. The report also states there are no residential locations within .5 mile of the main plant area. The center of the plant to the center of the prison is 2,600 feet, 40 feet less than .5 mile. I’ve never heard of the wind making a turn or going around something just to avoid it. We do have staff who live on prison grounds and what about the inmates incarcerated there? This is their home. Let’s not forget Frackville State Correctional Institution either. None of their buildings are airtight and as the crow flies, it’s located approximately 1.5 miles from the Mahanoy prison. We all complain about the taxes we pay now. Can any of us imagine how much this plant could cost us in lives, let alone the money factor? Think of possible lawsuits in the future by inmates and their families. Think of the increase that each Pennsylvania taxpayer could have to pay for medical insurance for state employees. It will become a snowball effect and get bigger as times goes on and we won’t be able to stop it. This project sounds good for the economy as far as jobs, but looking at the whole picture, it’s wrong for Schuylkill County or, for that matter, any county in Pennsylvania. The interests of the people are not taken into consideration. The only interest is money.
Timothy G. Teltow
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