Countywide : Study Says Emission Cutbacks Have Risks

A proposal to force area power plants to reduce pollution-causing emissions could increase the risk of accidental release of a potentially deadly gas, a study released Thursday says.

But the chances of an accident involving the toxic ammonia used to reduce emissions are remote, the report says. Moreover, the regulation’s benefits to air quality far outweigh the hazards, Ventura County Air Pollution Control District officials said.

The regulation, known as Rule 59, would require Southern California Edison to reduce emissions by 88% at its two Oxnard power plants. Beginning in 1994, Edison would be required to reduce nitrogen oxide emissions from the present six-year average of 3,083 tons a year to 370 tons a year.

Ammonia is necessary in the emission-reduction technology, and large amounts of the gas would be stored at both plants. People exposed to high concentrations of ammonia can die from bronchial spasms.

But ammonia is already commonly used in Ventura County as a refrigerant for agricultural produce without harmful accidents, the report says.

The county Board of Supervisors is scheduled to vote on the regulation June 4.