An editorial in today's Mercury News requested information about reports of increased respiratory ailments or other illness in the vicinity of power plants.

The California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) review of the proposed sale of four of Pacific Gas and Electric Company's (PG&E) power plants (Potrero, Pittsburg, and Contra Costa fossil-fueled power plants, and the Geysers geothermal plant) is located at http://www.pgedivest.com/. (The power plant at Hunter's Point was not included because the City of San Francisco and PG&E came to an agreement to eventually close the plant. See http://www.pge.com/whats_new/news/releases/1998/quarter03/980713r.htm for more information.)

From the CEQA review at http://www.pgedivest.com/eir/chapters/04-05air.htm:

"A study conducted by the San Francisco Department of Health (1995) reported that there were higher incidences than expected of breast and cervical cancer in the Bayview-Hunters Point Area in the years 1988-1992. A follow-up to the findings of this study was carried out by the California Department of Health Services (Glazer et al., 1998). This follow-up study evaluated the incidence of cancer in the same area for the period 1993-1995. The findings state that, for 1993-1995, the observed numbers of cancer among Bayview-Hunters Point residents were very similar to other regions of the Bay Area. According to the study, the observed increase during 1988-1992 may of been explained by increased breast cancer screening that was started in the late 1980s, in order to provide more opportunity for early detection."

"A draft study released by the Bayview Hunters Point Health and Environmental Assessment Task Force (Aragon and Grumbach, 1997) reported that hospitalization rates for asthma, hypertension, diabetes and congestive heart failure are higher in this area than any other part of San Francisco. However, the draft study does not identify the cause(s) of the observed increased respiratory problems, and does not consider individual pollutant exposure. To better understand the causes of the increased incidences, a detailed study would have to be carried out that can characterize individual exposure. Without a detailed study, only inferences can be made regarding the relationship between industrial emissions, vehicle emissions, other sources, and respiratory problems in the area."

The study by the San Francisco Department of Health of cancer cases from 1993-1995 can be found at http://www.dph.sf.ca.us/Reports/bvhuntca.pdf.

As noted no conclusions can be drawn from these reports about the safety or danger of local effects from power plants. This shows how much there is still to learn about the complex interactions of humans, environment, pollution, and a host of other variables.

Sincerely,

Steven Nelson