Martins Creek Steam Station

Martins Creek Steam Electric Station is a coal-fired power station owned and operated by PPL near Bangor, Pennsylvania. It is adjacent to PPL's Lower Mount Bethel plant.

Plant Data

 * Owner: PPL Martins Creek LLC
 * Parent Company: PPL
 * Plant Nameplate Capacity: 312 MW (Megawatts)
 * Units and In-Service Dates: 156 MW (1954), 156 MW (1956)
 * Location: 6605 Foul Rift Rd., Bangor, PA 18013
 * GPS Coordinates: 40.796355, -75.108594
 * Coal Consumption:
 * Coal Source:
 * Number of Employees:

Emissions Data

 * 2006 CO2 Emissions: 1,670,459 tons
 * 2006 SO2 Emissions:
 * 2006 SO2 Emissions per MWh:
 * 2006 NOx Emissions:
 * 2005 Mercury Emissions:

Study finds dangerous level of hexavalent chromium at PPL's Martins Creek coal waste site
The study "EPA’s Blind Spot: Hexavalent Chromium in Coal Ash," released by EarthJustice and the Sierra Club in early February 2011, reported elevated levels of hexavalent chromium, a highly potent cancer-causing chemical, at several coal ash sites in Pennsylvania. In all, the study cited 29 sites in 17 states where hexavalent chromium contamination was found. The information was gathered from existing EPA data on coal ash as well as from studies by EarthJustice, the Environmental Integrity Project, and the Sierra Club. It included locations in Alabama, Arkansas, Delaware, Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Minnesota, Massachusetts, North Carolina, North Dakota, Nevada, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virgina and Wisconsin.

According to the report, hexavalent chromium (Cr(VI)) was found at elevated levels at the following sites:
 * PPL's Martins Creek Steam Station unlined coal waste pond at 100 ppb (parts per billion) - 5,000 times the proposed California drinking water goals and above the federal drinking water standard.

A press release about the report read:


 * Hexavalent chromium first made headlines after Erin Brockovich sued Pacific Gas & Electric because of poisoned drinking water from hexavalent chromium. Now new information indicates that the chemical has readily leaked from coal ash sites across the U.S. This is likely the tip of the iceberg because most coal ash dump sites are not adequately monitored.

According to the report, the electric power industry is the leading source of chromium and chromium compounds released into the environment, representing 24 percent of releases by all industries in 2009.

Related SourceWatch Articles

 * Existing U.S. Coal Plants
 * Pennsylvania and coal
 * PPL
 * United States and coal
 * Global warming