Power Plants.

One of the major and very common sources of chemical pollutants in Iowa is the release of toxic elements from coal fired power plants. Iowa has yet to fully transition to renewable energy and continues to rely heavily on coal to generate electricity for homes, businesses and industries in Iowa. All fossil fuel emissions negatively impact Iowa’s environment and air quality, unlike fossil fuels “renewable energy technologies are more durable; therefore, you will spend less on maintenance and repair. Overall, the operational cost of renewable energy stations is significantly less than traditional power stations.” (Lakeh, 2024). These power plants are actively emitting large amounts of mercury, sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides and many other toxic substances into Iowa’s air, lowering the overall air quality. The cycle of fossil fuel usage simultaneously increases Iowans taxes while decreasing overall efficiency of electricity and increasing the toxins within Iowa’s air particles. Iowa’s dependence on outdated energy amplifies the urgency toward cleaner alternatives. Something that should also be considered within our power plants is that coal contains more sulfur than any other fossil fuel which is one of the leading causes of acid rain. (EG)

Coal is also able to produce a toxin called fly ash which includes a variety of substances that can cause adverse health effects, while fly ash is not the biggest contributor to low air quality in Iowa it is something that needs to be considered and decreased in the near future. The highly toxic chemical pollutants released from power plants impacts Iowa’s air quality, environment health and human health severely. As stated before coal contains such high levels of sulfur which then goes onto form sulfur dioxide and aid in the production of acid rain. While China is considered to be one of the regions that struggles with acid rain the most, “People living in Cedar Rapids and Muscatine have been exposed to atmospheric SO2 levels above the NAAQS. Particulates are a known problem in Mason City and Buffalo, and high levels of both particulates and ozone have been measured in Davenport.” (Iowa Department of Naturalist: Iowa Air Pollution, 2018). Sulfur dioxide is one of the primary components in acid rain and can cause various adverse effects within the environment and Iowa citizens. (EG)