Covanta's Chester, PA Trash Incinerator:
One of the Largest Polluters in the Region

Nitrogen Oxide (NOx) pollution is a major cause of asthma. Sulfur dioxide (SO2) pollution causes breathing difficulties and pre-term births.

Covanta's trash incinerator in Chester, PA is the largest source of nitrogen oxide (NOx) pollution in the City of Chester. In all of Delaware County, it's second only to the Philadelphia International Airport.

Of the 28 electric generating facilities in the 5-county Philadelphia area, Covanta is the largest NOx and the largest SO2 polluter, now that coal is no longer burned at the Exelon power plant in Eddystone, just north of Chester.

Of all 82 electric generating facilities in the eastern half of Pennsylvania, Covanta was the 4th largest NOx polluter in 2007, the 9th largest in 2009 and 2010 and the 6th largest in 2011. Four power plants closed or stopped burning coal since 2011, leaving only two coal plants and maybe a paper mill as the only dirtier sources of NOx pollution in all of eastern PA.

Once the Titus coal power plant in Berks County closes in April 2015, Covanta will be the 4th largest source of NOx pollution and 6th largest source of sulfur dioxide pollution from any electric generating plant in eastern Pennsylvania.

Largest Nitrogen Oxide-polluting electric generators in eastern half of Pennsylvania (2010):

Facility	County	Fuel	NOx 2010	Status	Rank after April 2015
PPL Brunner Island	York	Coal	16,800		1
PPL Montour	Montour	Coal	6,817	1 of 3 units is considered expensive and ripe for retirement.	2
Exelon - Eddystone Generating Station	Delaware	Coal	3,814	Coal units closed in 2011-2012.
Sunbury Generation LP	Snyder	Coal	2,991	Plant closed in June 2014.
Portland	Northampton	Coal	2,699	Plant closed in June 2014.
P. H. Glatfelter Paper Mill	York	Coal/Biomass	2,303		3
Titus	Berks	Coal	1,379	Plant closing in April 2015.
Exelon - Cromby Generating Station	Chester	Coal	1,274	Closed in 2011.
Covanta - Delaware Valley Resource Recovery Facility	Delaware	Trash	1,263		4
PPL Martins Creek	Northampton	Coal	1,255
York County Resource Recovery	York	Trash	515
UGI - Hunlock Power Station	Luzerne	Coal	312	Converted from coal to gas in 2010-2011.
St Nicholas Cogen Project	Schuylkill	Waste Coal	222	Plant is considered expensive and ripe for retirement.
Harrisburg Incinerator	Dauphin	Trash	181

Largest Sulfur Dioxide-polluting electric generators in eastern half of Pennsylvania (2010):

Facility	County	Fuel	SO2 2010	Status	Rank after April 2015
Sunbury Generation LP	Snyder	Coal	30,787	Plant closed in June 2014.
Portland	Northampton	Coal	22,073	Plant closed in June 2014.
PPL Montour	Montour	Coal	19,141	1 of 3 units is considered expensive and ripe for retirement.	1
PPL Brunner Island	York	Coal	17,822		2
P. H. Glatfelter Paper Mill	York	Coal/Biomass	14,161		3
Titus	Berks	Coal	8,339	Plant closing in April 2015.
York County Resource Recovery	York	Trash	5,350		4
Exelon - Eddystone Generating Station	Delaware	Coal	4,934	Coal units closed in 2011-2012.
Exelon - Cromby Generating Station	Chester	Coal	2,125	Closed in 2011.
UGI - Hunlock Power Station	Luzerne	Coal	1,992	Converted from coal to gas in 2010-2011.
St Nicholas Cogen Project	Schuylkill	Waste Coal	1,723	Plant is considered expensive and ripe for retirement.	5
Covanta - Delaware Valley Resource Recovery Facility	Delaware	Trash	1,549		6
PPL Martins Creek	Northampton	Coal	508
Harrisburg Incinerator	Dauphin	Trash	179

Sources: EPA eGRID Database and National Emissions Inventory