Organization ranks Ohio #1, Kentucky #4 for power plant air pollution

Indiana ranks sixth on the list

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HAMM, GERMANY - MAY 23: The Kraftwerk Westfallen coal-burning power plant is pictured on May 23, 2011 in Hamm, Germany. The plant, operated by German utilities giant RWE Power AG, was originally built in the 1970s, though two new additions…
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Posted: 02/10/2013

Ohio recently took the number one spot on a list it may not wish to be on.

A recent ranking of the 20 worst states for air pollution from power plants placed Ohio as the worst offender in the nation, accounting for nearly 12 percent of the U.S. industrial air pollution, according to a report by the National Resources Defense Council (NRDC), an environmental advocacy group.

Kentucky ranked high as well, at number four. Indiana is sixth on the list.

The report, produced by the NRDC using information from the Environmental Protection Agency data, also ranked Ohio number one for mercury air pollution.

Looking at numbers from 2009, U.S. power plants emitted 771 million pounds of toxic chemicals, and the electric sector was responsible for 49 percent of all industrial toxic air pollution, according to the Mother Nature Network website. Ohio's power plants emitted 44.5 million pounds of harmful chemicals in that year, according to the NRDC report.

Here is the complete list of state rankings according to NRDC:

1. Ohio

2. Pennsylvania

3. Florida

4. Kentucky

5. Maryland

6. Indiana

7. Michigan

8. West Virginia

9. Georgia

10. North Carolina

11. South Carolina