Mirant plant a health risk, says report

A federal report recently released by the Alexandria Health Department found that the sulfur dioxide emissions from the coal-burning Mirant Potomac River Generating Station could be harmful to children with asthma and other at-risk populations.

“Acute exposures to short-term SO2 [sulfur dioxide] levels estimated by air dispersion modeling of Mirant air emissions under current operating conditions may be of public health concern to exercising asthmatics and asthmatic children,” the Federal Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry found.