THOMAS — An independent impact analysis commissioned by the grassroots coalition Tucker United states that Tucker, Grant, and Hardy counties will be exposed to dangerous air pollutants from a proposed Ridgeline power plant and data center complex.

Pollutants from the plant could cause up to $35 million in annual health-related damage to residents and visitors to the region, according to the analysis, led by a Harvard environmental health scientist.

The proposed plant, which is sought by the Virginia-based company Fundamental Data, would be a 500-acre natural gas facility that would fuel a data center. The plant would be in close proximity to the towns of Thomas and Davis.

Tucker United has for months protested the proposed plant, which would be built in the area of the Tucker County landfill.

According to the analysis, more than 250,000 people across the three states, including Virginia and Maryland, would experience increased exposure to fine particulate air pollution. 

Fine particulate matter, or PM2.5, was examined in the independent analysis using pollution estimates from Fundamental Data’s air permit application. According to the analysis, PM2.5 can penetrate deep into lung tissue and enter the bloodstream, and is associated with both short- and long-term health effects, including premature death, lung cancer, asthma, heart attacks, cardiovascular disease, strokes, and cognitive decline.

“No level of fine particulate matter is safe,” Beth Boehme, a physician assistant and steering-committee member of Tucker United. “The very uncomfortable truth is that the health impacts will happen here to us, our kids, our grandparents, and our closest friends.”An attempt was made by The Inter-Mountain to reach out to Fundamental Data for a response to the analysis, but the company’s website (fundementaldata.com) only features the business’ name and a copyright notice on the page. No contact information is listed.

Tucker United decided to do the independent analysis after the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection declined to conduct air dispersion modeling and granted the air permit for the facility in August of last year.

“When data centers are powered by fossil fuels, they emit fine particulate matter that is linked to serious health risks,” said Michael Cork, a Harvard-affiliated environmental health scientist and lead analyst of the study. “In this case, permitted emissions alone could lead to up to $35 million in annual health damages.”

The impact analysis is based on the facility operating within emission limits set by the state of West Virginia, and does not account for additional pollutants, non-routine operating conditions, or site-specific weather events.

“I worry the true cost of these data centers is being obscured and that West Virginians will be forced to bear the health and economic burdens,” said Shaena Crossland, a small-business owner based in Thomas and a steering-committee member of Tucker United. “No good economic development proposal puts the health and wellbeing of local residents at risk. I feel West Virginians deserve better.”

To see the full analysis report or to obtain more information about Tucker United, visit www.tuckerunited.com.