1. Coal already is the biggest air polluter in the U.S.
Union of Concerned Scientists

2. Americans living near coal-fired power plants are exposed to higher radiation doses than those living near nuclear power plants that meet government regulations.
Science Magazine, Dec. 8, 1978

3. Coal-fired power plants are the major sources of radioactive materials released into the environment.
Coal Combustion: Nuclear Resource or Danger, Oak Ridge National Laboratory

4. Coal-fired power plants are responsible for 60% of U.S. sulfur dioxide emissions, 33% of U.S. mercury emissions, 25% of nitrogen oxide emissions and more than 33% of the nation's carbon dioxide air emissions.
Chemical and Engineering News, Feb. 23, 2004

5. Coal is the single largest source of mercury emissions in the nation.
Sierra Club North Star Chapter

6. A typical coal plant each year emits 3.7 million tons of carbon dioxide (CO2), the primary human cause of global warming - as much carbon dioxide as cutting down 161 million trees.
Union of Concerned Scientists

7. A typical coal plant each year emits 10,200 tons of nitrogen oxide (NOx), as much as would be emitted by 500,000 late-model cars.
Union of Concerned Scientists

8. Coal-fired power plants are the largest single source of sulfur dioxide (SO2), releasing about 2/3 of the total SO2 pollution each year.
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, "National Air Quality and Emissions Trends Report." 2003. Appendix A.

9. Although coal-fired power plants account for just over half of the electricity produced in the U.S. each year, they have been responsible for over 83% of the CO2 pollution since 1990.
U.S. Department of Energy and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, "Carbon Dioxide Emissions from the Generation of Electric Power in the United States." July 2000

10. A typical coal plant produces 170 pounds of mercury each year.
Clean Air Council

11. A typical coal plant produces 225 pounds of arsenic each year.
Clean Air Council

12. A typical coal plant produces 114 pounds of lead each year.
Clean Air Council