Testimonyfrom: Susan Buchanan, MD, MPH Clinical Asst. Professor of Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences Universityof Illinois School of Public Health Chicago, Illinois

May 24, 2012

Thank you for the opportunity to express my personal views aboutthe EPA's Carbon Pollution Standard for New Power Plants. I am heretoday representing Physicians for Social Responsibility and the Union of Concerned Scientists, groups whose missions include protecting the public from environmental health threats.

I am a Family Physician with specialtytraining in Occupational and Environmental Medicine. In my role as a primary care provider I have diagnosed hundredsof patients with diseases that can be linked directlyto air pollution and poorairquality in our city. As an Environmental Medicine specialist Ifollowthe scientific literature on the health effects ofclimate change, and I recognize that research in the past decade has clearly shown that airqualityaffects human health to a much greaterdegree than we previouslythought.

Power plants are the largest source ofcarbon pollution in the US, which includes carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas. Scientists nowoverwhelmingly agree thatthe accumulation ofgreenhouse gases is causing climate change. Health effects that
can be linked to climate change include asthma, coronary heart disease, heat stroke and deathsfrom heatwaves, insect-borne infectious diseases, injuries and deathsfrom floods, and food shortages caused by drought. The health effects ofclimate change will likely be the biggest public health challenge ofthe 21st century.

Iwould like to review three potential health effectsfrom climate change.

Asthma -Air pollution triggers wheezing, shortnessof breath, and coughing, and is known to cause asthma attacks. In Cook Countywe are already suffering from
an epidemic ofasthma: over 300,000 adults and 100,000 children have been diagnosed with asthma, giving a prevalence of 13%, with some neighborhoods at 44%. That means that in some areas ofChicago, 44 ofevery 100 residents are suffering from this chronic, potentially deadly disease, which has been directly linked to air pollution. Asthma exacerbations are one ofthe most common reasons for visiting primary care physicians and emergency rooms. Asthma fatalities are not uncommon and are likelyto increase as ourairquality worsens with climate change.

### Deaths dueto heat waves- The US Centers for Disease Control reports that the heat wave in Europe in 2003 caused an excess of 35,000 deaths. Climate change models predict that heatwaves, already on the rise, will become more frequent.

Cancer- It is estimated that environmental factors accountfor approximately 30% of cancers. According to the Centers for Disease Control, "one possible direct impact of climate change on cancer may be through increases in exposure to toxic chemicals that are known orsuspected to cause cancerfollowing heavy rainfall and by increased volatilization of chemicals under conditions of increased temperature. In the case of heavy rainfall orflooding, there may be an increase in leaching oftoxic chemicals and heavy metals from storage sites and increased contamination ofwaterwith runoff containing persistent chemicals that are already in the environment."

In summary, carbon emissions contribute to climate change. Climate change
causes adverse health effects on humans that will likely increase in the future. Therefore, I strongly supportthe proposed Carbon Pollution Standard for New Power Plants. In addition, I urge the EPAto move swiftlyto enact standards that
cover existing power plants.

It is essential to the health ofourcitizens that the US EPAtake measures immediatelyto prevent air pollution and therefore reduce the effects ofclimate change.