I admire the mission statement for the South Dakota Department of Environment and Natural Resources and the Board of Minerals and Environment acknowledging their goal to protect our public health and the environment. By approving an air permit for the Hyperion Energy Center, they ignore this mission.

Hyperion would discharge many tons of toxic air pollutants that the Environmental Protection Agency designates as hazardous air pollutants. These are substances such as ethyl benzene, butadiene and formaldehyde that are known or suspected to cause cancer or other serious health problems. We will be exposed to these cancer-causing chemicals so there can be economic development in the area.

There has been plenty of research on single agent toxicity of many of these pollutants. Specifically, volatile organic acids including benzene will be present in quantities of at least 1.4 tons per day over the Elk Point and area air space. Studies of this single agent demonstrate that this chemical will cause respiratory difficulties, especially in children and the elderly. This includes wheezing, bronchitis and asthma. Benzene is known to be toxic to the DNA, leading to blood cell cancers such as childhood leukemia.

The real concern that now is being explored by researchers is the concept of Multipollutant Science. This "one atmosphere" approach takes into account that humans and ecosystems are exposed to many air pollutants simultaneously, not just one agent at a time. This science will help explain what pollutants together will do versus a single toxic effect.

Unfortunately, Hyperion and the minerals board will not be involved in any Multipollutant Science research, and the oil refinery project will force residents in Union, Clay and other counties to breathe a cocktail of contamination. But residents will not know much about what pollutants they will be exposed to because the air permit does not provide sufficient information. The Board of Minerals and Environment will not require Hyperion to provide facts about its pollutants in an Environmental Impact Study.

The hazardous air pollutant I most fear, largely because of its relationship with other toxins, is particulate matter. Particulate matter is just one of the numerous toxins that will be emitted in quantities large and strong enough to adversely affect our health. The mixture of solid microscopic particles and liquid droplets comes in a variety of sizes and is composed of many materials and chemicals. These particles are measured in microns, with bigger ones at 10 microns and smaller ones at 2.5 microns or less.

The Hyperion air permit allows the refinery to spew more than 6 tons of particulate matter every day. These fine particles, which are odorless and one-tenth the size of the width of a human hair, will settle into our lungs causing inflammation and irritation. We will not be able to cough this out. We will have to live with this day after day. The fine particles approved in the permit will be absorbed through our lung air sacs and into blood capillaries where disease occurs. Long-term exposure to particulate matter results in decreased lung function, asthma, chronic bronchitis, heart attacks, heart palpitations and premature death. There is evidence now that particulate matter exposure also increases stroke risk.

Year after year, this pollution process will continue because the BME thought it was safe for our health. Unfortunately, there is not a single medically trained representative on this board.

As a physician who will care for patients in southeastern South Dakota exposed to this dangerous pollution, I feel this urgent warning is necessary.

In the long run, Hyperion will ruin our health, and any economic gains will be lost to the medical consequences. The BME should not ignore these facts. I suspect it would not want this mixture of chemicals pouring into the air that its members' own children and grandchildren breathe. The BME and South Dakota leaders should do the right thing. They should muster personal courage in the face of political pressure. They should reject the Hyperion air permit and protect our public health and environment.