Statistics on local air pollution tri-cities (Kingsport: standard of living, relocate to, areas)

[Mark-faf]

Originally Posted by NorthernLights

We've learned a few things Mark-faf since Chernobyl and TMI.

The RBMK reactor bolshoy moshchnosty kanalny,style reactor at Chernobyl was a greedy abortion of a design for a nuclear power plant that never should have been built, and thankfully, to my knowledge, was only ever built in soviet bloc countries that chose a most efficient way to ring power from their particular nuclear fuel with almost complete and total disregard to safety, and no way to shut them down if things went awry [so to say].

TMI was a close, but still, non-disaster.

Both accidents possibly occurred before you were born [I don't know you, you may be older than I am. d.o.b. 1962. But anyway] which means they both were products of technology from around the 1970's. You most likely wouldn't even feel safe traveling in an automobile designed in the 1970's compared to today's automobiles where things like seatbelts [not to mention air bags], good brakes and handling characteristics took second fiddle to "Styling" and straight line accelerating horsepower! It was a very different world where they were more worried about the placement of the ashtray in a car, and things like 'vinyl roofs' than they were about safety features.

Yes, I am old enough to remember Chernobyl and Three Mile Island. It's easy to blow off TMI as a non-event looking back. But, I tell you, for a few days it was a disaster movie-like Armageddon looming. If it weren't for the hard work of some brave people, it would have been. I was an anti-nuclear activist in the 70's-80's. I also restore old cars and sometimes drive in cars without airbags, however my kids MUST be properly belted in. Yes, modern nuclear plants are safer than those mentioned, but not without significant dangers. How much is an acceptable release of radioactivity? We hear about those "releases" here in New England with the Vermont Yankee and Seabrook, NH plants. As money becomes tight, power companies have been found to shortcut maintenance on these plants, which could have disastrous results.

But, OK, I'll grant that any power produced by non-renewable resources has it's short term and long term dangers. But, still, there has been NO scientifically proven method to safely dispose of the byproducts of atom splitting, so for me, that's the bigger issue.

OK, now for some local forum content. Pollution levels are a big factor in our relocation plans and from what I read about Kingsport, I'd probably prefer to stay away from Eastman and the paper plant. (I have a sensitive nose.) I'm hoping cleaner air can be found in other parts of the Tri.

Oh, by the way, thanks for reading

Mark

[jabogitlu]

Not sure about air quality proper, but going by straight chemical and toxin dumping - in air, and on land and water - Washington County has far, far, far less than Sullivan.

[DubbleT]

I've posted this before but I think it's a neat little tool for looking at pollutants in specific areas.
USA TODAY Special Report – The Smokestack Effect – Toxic Air and America’s Schools

Pick a school and it will bring up a map with "Chemicals most responsible for the toxicity outside this school", and it lists "Polluters most responsible for toxics outside this school" Gives you the names of nearby companies and what they are putting into the environment. Kind of neat.

[Mark-faf]

Originally Posted by DubbleT

I've posted this before but I think it's a neat little tool for looking at pollutants in specific areas.
USA TODAY Special Report – The Smokestack Effect – Toxic Air and America’s Schools

Pick a school and it will bring up a map with "Chemicals most responsible for the toxicity outside this school", and it lists "Polluters most responsible for toxics outside this school" Gives you the names of nearby companies and what they are putting into the environment. Kind of neat.

Thanks for that link. Upon looking at the schools near the worst pollution in Tennessee, there are unfortunately many in Kingsport.

That's enough to keep me and my kids from relocating to Kingsport. Too bad.

[dreamofmonterey]

I have allergies, and never really had problems in North Johnson City; stay away from Carter County near King Springs Rd, they have horrible garbage dump there;I can't believe its not regulated...

Overall I think JC air is okay; the paper factories smell the worst, and near Waynesville and Canton North Carolina (western NC)

[TopshelfTom]

This brings up the question of what can be done to improve the quality of air in these areas....I do find it interesting, though, to find out through this website that the area I live in now is in the 11th percentile whereas the area I used to live in was in the 40th percentile. Interestingly enough I do suffer from bad allergies but haven't noticed them get any worse in moving from maryland to new york.....they didn't get any better, but....

[NorthernLights]

Mark-faf,
I reviewed your comments and I have to agree with you that maybe Kingsport or most places in NE/TN wouldn't make you very happy. I would have to suggest Buncombe county NC and the surrounding area. Very beautiful, probably folks who you might identify more with...but a little more expensive. Just a guess, but I think it would suit you more though on numerous levels.
I hope my views regarding nuclear power did not offend you in any way. But, to quote you on TMI,

"it was a disaster movie-like Armageddon looming."

No it wasn't.

No disaster.

I lived through it about 50 miles south from where I was living at the time in Westminster MD. Nothing. Close, some radioactive steam, about as radioactive as what comes out of coal smoke stacks...But No disaster, No Chernobyl. Not even close.

Sorry, No disaster. Get over it!!!!

I came to my views while working on my masters in environmental science and while working as an environmental scientist for an engineering consulting firm. [doesn't mean I'm the last word on the subject, but it does mean I've studied it more than casually], Maybe I come from a different side of the tracks than you do but, I feel I can justify my opinions. I myself was surprised after weighing all the options that I had to conclude that in spite of all it's negative aspects that for an amazing amount more of Kilowatt hours that nuclear power actually seemed to produce the least amount of toxic waste and no greenhouse gas issues compared to how we produce electricity currently by a large margin, and I can't emphasize enough the word large, especially when you predict in to it that we will continue to learn more about reprocessing nuclear waste and eventually/ultimately move away from nuclear energy altogether or possibly develop even better, yet unforeseen, methods of making nuclear power fission v. fusion, etc. so on, which our bright young children coming along behind us most likely will discover the answers to. Not a fantastic solution for sure by today's standards but one that I feel we should not turn our backs on forever.
This whole area is so incredibly beautiful and you can go from urban centers to places that seem untouched by man's hand [not true since the the whole place was logged or mined, but it has recovered, thus seems 'virgin'] in a very reasonable commute compared to more populated areas like in the northeast.
I would wager you would easily find a great place to live down here if you came down to visit for a weeks at a time before moving here. If you haven't already then by all means come visit us.
As to air quality? Since moving here I notice more dryness in my eyes. Ground level ozone? Industrial emissions? I just can't say for certain, I'm not getting any younger, so maybe that's the problem. I give myself a drop or two of saline solution when it bothers me. All things considered...better than Maryland where I emigrated from. I have been recently looking into air filters to remove indoor ozone. Just out of curiosity, not necessity. They are simple filter of carbon. Some can be installed right in your existing air returns. Just have to research things for yourself and see what works I guess. Some of the indoor air filters you see advertised actually seem to produce more ozone so they may not improve your indoor air quality. The Californians recently banned them [but they ban everything] anyway, research before you buy.

[Mark-faf]

Originally Posted by NorthernLights

No disaster.

I lived through it about 50 miles south from where I was living at the time in Westminster MD. Nothing. Close, some radioactive steam, about as radioactive as what comes out of coal smoke stacks...But No disaster, No Chernobyl. Not even close.

Sorry, No disaster. Get over it!!!!

Thanks, NorthernLights for your educated opinion. But I can't help but feel with all the bolds, underlines, and exclamation points!!!! you were yelling or upset. But you really weren't, were you

As for TMI, yes it pales in comparison to Chernobyl which happened about 7 years later. But, just in case my memory of the scare 30 years ago was all wet, as you claim, I just had to look it up.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Three_Mile_Island_accident

You are right in the sense that perhaps there were no significant cases of human cancer measured as a result of TMI. But upon reviewing history, there were certainly grave concerns regarding the accident at the time.

I don't dismiss nuclear power as an option to consider for power generation. But relying on unknown future science to solve the waste issue is dangerous. As for the least amount of waste coming from nuclear, that may be so, but the waste is sinister and very dangerous in small amounts.

I respect your expert analysis, but I prefer to concentrate on renewable resources for power generation. Water, tides, wind, and solar are practical alternatives if we build smaller more local orientated power stations and improve the distribution grid to adapt.

You feel I would be happier in Buncombe County, NC, "on many levels". I suppose one of those levels is the perceived politically left leaning city of Asheville. You mentioned the air quality as well. This thread is an eye opener on that front. Check out especially Post #10.

http://www.city-data.com/forum/weste...questions.html

I am considering WNC as well as NETN, but the price of admission in NC appears to be too high for me. I look forward to visiting the Tri, especially Washington County, at this point it appears to be a good fit for me.

Even if I'm a democrat environmentalist.

Mark

[NorthernLights]

Yelling, upset? Frustrated maybe as I get older. Lots of people expect the lights to come on and the thermostat to make the house warmer or cooler but then complain about all the methods we use to make the energy to make them comfortable and cry about why we don't do it with solar or wind power. [Maybe because they're not viable reliable energy sources that produce even a fraction of our energy needs...but other than that...no reason] People want jobs and industry but then complain and restrict the methods and processes industry needs to operate and efficiently convert materials into products. I wish there was a free lunch or that we didn't have to break eggs to make an omelet but there doesn't appear to be. No one hopes that solar, wind, etc. will ultimately be an efficient and affordable way to make all the energy we need more than I do. Until that wonderful day in our grandkids lives we need to insulate our homes, drive more efficient vehicles and turn the thermostat so we don't use as much fuel. And I hope people would approve of more modern nuclear power generating plants to be built instead of just re-certifying and extending the life of the current plants we are running, many of which are as old or older than I am. This is not THE final solution to our energy needs but it would make as significant a difference at this point if anything can to the way man is affecting the planet. Even if it's too late to alter the affects of our carbon based pollution we could enjoy clean air while the global temps rise like they do in France.
Expert opinion? Not on nuke issues, wasn't my area of specialization, but I have studied and weighed the available methods of generating energy more than Joe six-pack has, probably more than the majority of average folks and while I see the glaring flaws and risks inherent in fusing or splitting atoms to make heat to make steam to make electricity I think we need to balance the steady silent damage we have been doing over the last century by digging up and burning coal to power our society. Like many environmental scientists my work was mostly taking paper made from cut down trees and writing reports that no one will ever see or use that were called environmental site assessments that were frankly just a useless and wasteful part of the real estate industry when you come right down to it. I did get to work on some projects that actually cleaned up some constituents of concern regarding hazardous materials but what a good many people in the environmental field do is just generate reports and fill out permits that were required by laws that politicians created to appease outraged citizens over some issue "du jour". I moved from that later on to actually getting out and working on remediation projects that did things like safely, remove or seal up asbestos and lead materials in places like schools and public buildings and even got to work on a really cool project with ECBC blowing up in-situ WWI mustard gas shells that were dug up in people's backyards in Washington DC, buried by American University after the Great War and forgotten. That stuff is cool but the environmental field to me is sadly like the old adage "When all is said and done, a lot more was said than done." I have since found other ways to make more of a difference.
I wish you good luck in finding a place in this country to live that is not near a Superfund site or currently operating industry. The best many of us can do is pick our poisons to live downstream from. Accidents happen in even the most benign industries that can be harmful. Before i moved here I researched Eastman Chemical and NFS up in Erwin. I was alarmed to read about the spill of about 9 gallons of nuclear enriched liquid at NFS that almost made it down an elevator shaft and out a drain into the Nolichucky river. But fortunately...it didn't...so. I do notice dry burning eyes everyonce in a while since moving here and wonder is it Eastman or [just as likely, maybe more so] one of the other industries in northeast TN, or is it pollutants from all the coal burned in the midwest backing up in it's easterly travels against the mountains I live next to. Or is it pollen, mold or ground level ozone generated by Mother Nature, who surprisingly enough still out produces man in ozone production from naturally occuring VOCs like pinene and turpene, etc. so on.
Anyway, yes I was suggesting that you may be more comfortable politically in the AVL area than you would be in NE TN. Nothing wrong with living around other people who share your views and values. I still urge you to come visit the area if you have not done so. After years of research and comparison I found it to be the best balance of benefits and drawbacks for me personally and have chosen to spend the rest of my life here and for the last few years so far have absolutely no regrets. I hate to leave here even to go visit my former home.

[Mark-faf]

Thank you for your well written and organized thoughts. I suspect we agree on the majority of environmental issues.

I think my expectations are realistic. My family has explored other areas of the south and spent 2 weeks on the SC coast. The small city of Georgetown, SC had a historic, walkable downtown and lovely waterfront, but the smell from the paper plant in town was enough for my wife and I to realize it wasn't the place. Here in Northern New England, the air is fresh and clean for the most part, but there are places with paper mills or other factory emissions that I find bothersome. I'm only talking about what is apparent to the nose. I am aware that pollution isn't always something you can smell, and that it exists, in varying degrees, wherever you go.

I appreciate hearing from residents of ETN, noting their observations. There is only so much you can glean from tables and statistics. From what I read, even considering my political views may be different than many of you, you are my kind of people and ETN is my kind of place. I will visit soon.

Mark