Oakville Coal-Fire Plant Technology Predates JFK Presidency

The following is the letter read on my behalf to the St. Louis County Council on 6/18/13 by Sara Edgar of the Sierra Club:

Many people are skeptical of government and its role in our lives. I, for one, believe that government serves an important purpose. 

As often seen on our local police cars, "To serve and protect." 

I am nothing more than a father and a computer guy. In the audience we have parents, environmental activists, lawyers, teachers, grandparents and more. Alone we cannot protect ourselves and our families from dangers that are larger than any one of us, but as our representatives, you can. 

There is a coal fire plant in South St. Louis County that is using power generation techniques that pre-date the presidency of John F. Kennedy. 

As Maya Angelou recently said, "Do your best until you know better, and then when you know better, do better." 

Heavy metal pollution and sulfur dioxide pollution like that emanating from the Ameren Coal Fire plant next to Rogers Elementary is a danger that we as individuals cannot protect ourselves from. 

However, our government can protect us from undue harm. Government gives legitimacy to property and provides the structural support to prevent undue harm to its citizens.

As individuals, we are asking you, our representatives, to simply make the Missouri Department of Natural Resources to do its job and test the water. 

In my family, we have no genetic history of asthma. Recently, my very athletic and physically fit 10 year old son Joey has taken to wheezing and coughing as he rounds the bases at Affton Athletic Association. When he gets back to the bench, it takes him several minutes to get back to normal breathing. 

His doctor says his respiratory system is structurally sound.  His diagnosis is exercise induced asthma caused by environmental factors. 

Sulfur Dioxide is a silent killer. The invisible SO2 and particulate matter are inhaled by my son, and settle at the bottom of his lungs, never to be exhaled again. 

Mercury, Arsenic, and Chromium are likely leaching into our water, contaminants linked to neurological disorders, including autism. 

My fifth generation South County children didn't pick to live here and it's not 1950 anymore. We know better now, and we need to do better. Our representatives have a chance to prove the good that can come from good government. 

Our pollution laws are dated. This is not a question of legality, it's a question of ethics and safety. 

While you may not be specifically responsible for every detail of this important task, you have more power and connections than the 60,000 individual registered voters and 100,000 residents that are otherwise powerless against Ameren's 1950s era coal-fire pollution. The structure is already in place to protect us. Please do everything you can to protect our health. Make it happen. 

Thank you,
Karl Frank Jr.
Oakville, MO