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US seeks power plant emissions cuts to reduce smog
Jul 6, 2010, 22:20 GMT
Washington - The United States will drastically cut power- plant emissions of sulphur dioxide and nitrogen oxides over the next five years, hoping to prevent thousands of deaths from the air pollutants, the US environmental regulator announced Tuesday.
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) said it plans new rules that by 2014 will cut sulphur dioxide emissions 71 per cent below 2005 levels and reduce emissions of nitrogen oxides by 52 per cent.
By 2014, the EPA claimed its new clampdown will prevent up to 36,000 deaths annually and save more than 120 billion dollars in health costs related to the air pollutants.
Both sulphur dioxide and nitrogen oxides contribute to smog clouds that remain a problem for many major cities and are blamed for a series of respiratory diseases and heart attacks.
The EPA will have to open its decision to 60 days of public comment before the rule can take effect.
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