Pleasants Power Station

Pleasants Power Station (combined with the auxillary Willow Island Power Station) is a power station owned and operated by Allegheny Energy Supply Company, a subsidiary of the investor-owned electricity utility Allegheny Energy.

The power station has an installed capacity of 1,300 megawatts and is located at Willow Island, West Virginia.

Plant Data

 * Owner/Parent Company: Allegheny Energy
 * Plant Nameplate Capacity: 1,368 MW
 * Units and In-Service Dates: 684 MW (1979), 684 MW (1980)
 * Location: Route 2, Willow Island, WV 26134
 * GPS Coordinates: 39.365889, -81.297306
 * Coal Consumption: 8,550 tons/day
 * Coal Source: West Virginia, Ohio
 * Number of Employees: 206

Emissions Data

 * 2006 CO2 Emissions: 7,992,029 tons
 * 2006 SO2 Emissions: 42,867 tons
 * 2006 NOx Emissions: 9,512 tons
 * 2005 Mercury Emissions: 328 lb.

Death and disease attributable to fine particle pollution from Pleasants Power Station
In 2010, Abt Associates issued a study commissioned by the Clean Air Task Force, a nonprofit research and advocacy organization, quantifying the deaths and other health effects attributable to fine particle pollution from coal-fired power plants. Fine particle pollution consists of a complex mixture of soot, heavy metals, sulfur dioxide, and nitrogen oxides. Among these particles, the most dangerous are those less than 2.5 microns in diameter, which are so tiny that they can evade the lung's natural defenses, enter the bloodstream, and be transported to vital organs. Impacts are especially severe among the elderly, children, and those with respiratory disease. The study found that over 13,000 deaths and tens of thousands of cases of chronic bronchitis, acute bronchitis, asthma, congestive heart failure, acute myocardial infarction, dysrhythmia, ischemic heart disease, chronic lung disease, and pneumonia each year are attributable to fine particle pollution from U.S. coal plant emissions. These deaths and illnesses are major examples of coal's external costs, i.e. uncompensated harms inflicted upon the public at large. Low-income and minority populations are disproportionately impacted as well, due to the tendency of companies to avoid locating power plants upwind of affluent communities. To monetize the health impact of fine particle pollution from each coal plant, Abt assigned a value of $7,300,000 to each 2010 mortality, based on a range of government and private studies. Valuations of illnesses ranged from $52 for an asthma episode to $440,000 for a case of chronic bronchitis.

Table 1: Death and disease attributable to fine particle pollution from the Pleasants Power Station
Source: "Find Your Risk from Power Plant Pollution," Clean Air Task Force interactive table, accessed February 2011

Coal Waste Site

 * Pleasants Power Station McElroy's Run Embankment

"High Hazard" Surface Impoundment
The Pleasants Power Station McElroy's Run Embankment, which stores coal ash from the Pleasants plant, is on the EPA's official June 2009 list of Coal Combustion Residue (CCR) Surface Impoundments with High Hazard Potential Ratings. The rating applies to sites at which a dam failure would most likely cause loss of human life, but does not assess of the likelihood of such an event.

==Toxic Waste Data ==
 * Arsenic Waste: 58,898 pounds
 * Air Release: 470 pounds
 * Water Release (Ohio River): 28 pounds
 * Land Release (Landfill/Surface Impoundment): 53,400 pounds
 * Chromium Waste: 87,876 pounds
 * Air Release: 651 pounds
 * Water Release (Ohio River): 26 pounds
 * Land Release (Landfill/Surface Impoundment): 87,200 pounds
 * Dioxin Waste: .631 grams
 * Air Release: .631 grams
 * Lead Waste: 51,532 pounds
 * Air Release: 609 pounds
 * Land Release (Landfill/Surface Impoundment): 49,010 pounds
 * Recycling (Metals Recovery): 1,910 pounds
 * Mercury Waste: 818 pounds
 * Air Release: 281 pounds
 * Land Release (Landfill/Surface Impoundment): 274 pounds
 * Recycling (Metals Recovery): 262 pounds
 * Nickel Waste: 73,633 pounds
 * Air Release: 630 pounds
 * Water Release (Ohio River): 680 pounds
 * Land Release (Landfill/Surface Impoundment): 72,300 pounds
 * Recycling (Metals Recovery): 23 pounds
 * Selenium Waste: 19,710 pounds
 * Air Release: 3,600 pounds
 * Water Release (Ohio River): 110 pounds
 * Land Release (Landfill/Surface Impoundment): 16,000 pounds

Accidents and Negligence

 * April 28, 1978
 * In process of completing the plant, 51 men died when their scaffolding collapsed, dropping them 170 feet to the ground.
 * October 10, 2002
 * Two painters fell 45 feet to the ground and died on scene while operating a lift with boom extended. The uneven weight distribution toppled the lift, causing the men to fall.
 * March 9, 2008
 * A helicopter removing construction equipment from the installation of a scrubber at the plant lost its tail rotor, causing the helicopter to become unbalanced, resulted in an emergency landing on the facility grounds.
 * The pilot sustained minor injuries and nothing at the plant was damaged.

Litigation and Controversy

 * June 29, 2005
 * The Pennsylvania State Department of Energy instigated a lawsuit against Allegheny Energy along with four other states for violations of the federal Clean Air Act. The Kammer/Mitchell plant was included in this suit.
 * They maintain that the company made modifications to the plant without adding increased pollution and emission control modifications as well, which is a federal requirement.
 * In addition, they did not ask for, and therefore did not receive, state approval for the work that was done.

Related SourceWatch Articles

 * Existing U.S. Coal Plants
 * West Virginia and coal
 * Allegheny Energy
 * United States and coal
 * Global warming