As a nurse with decades of hospital experience, I've sat through nights with patients dying of respiratory failure, and calmed frightened parents as their children struggled to breathe during asthma attacks.

These experiences caused me to focus my work on preventing illness instead of waiting until people are too sick to live active, fulfilling lives.

Many of my colleagues in the public health field have similar motivations. Our goal is to prevent people from being exposed to toxins that cause disease. Our challenge seems to be those who think that corporations should be free to expose others to toxins, simply because it is profitable.

The (Jan. 24) guest column by PPL of Montana attempts to convince the public that because their Colstrip power plant provides jobs, its abysmal pollution record should be overlooked.

The op-ed missed the point. The question is, "Is Colstrip as clean as it can be, to reasonably protect our air, water and health?" As a nurse dedicated to public health, the answer is clearly "no."

Recently released data highlight just how dirty PPL's Colstrip plant is. When it comes to carbon dioxide pollution, PPL's Colstrip plant is the dirtiest coal-burning power plant in the West, and the eighth-dirtiest nationwide.

The numbers are staggering. Colstrip smokestacks put out about 17 million tons of CO2 a year. By comparison, the epic 1980 eruption of Mt. St. Helens emitted 10 million tons of CO2. In terms of CO2 pollution, Colstrip is like having a volcano erupt in eastern Montana every several months.

This is in part because Colstrip is both big and inefficient. Every day, this aging plant falls further behind modern pollution control technologies.

CO2 pollution contributes to many problems, from childhood asthma to climate change. Rosebud County, where Colstrip is located, has the third-highest rate of asthma in Montana, yet the true costs of air pollution are often felt hundreds of miles downwind.

CO2 is just the start. According to the Montana Department of Environmental Quality, Colstrip is also by far Montana's greatest source of SO2 and NO2, major contributors to smog, acid rain and unhealthy, dirty air. Colstrip puts out more of these types of pollution than the next top nine polluters in the Treasure State combined.

Then there is water pollution. Wastewater ponds at Colstrip have been leaking, contaminating water sources downstream for people and livestock.

In his recent op-ed, PPL spokesperson Gordon Criswell tried to change the subject, pointing out the millions of dollars that PPL has already spent to reduce pollution. Rest assured that PPL has not made these "investments" out of the kindness of its corporate heart, but either to maximize profits or follow the law.

At the very least, these investments are the costs of doing business, like the repair bill for keeping an oil-burning jalopy on the road. You can pour a lot of money into an old jalopy, but at some point you'll be pouring good money after bad. As a nurse and taxpayer I would much rather have PPL invest in reducing toxins than ask the public to care for more sick children. To argue otherwise is cost-shifting at its worst.

Are there ways to make Colstrip cleaner? Yes. Do they cost money? Yes.

Is it worth it? It's hard to put a price tag on your lungs, or your children's future. And it's important to remember that it's society's most vulnerable - our children, the elderly and the sick - who will pay the highest price.

PPL pledges to be a responsible corporate neighbor, but needs to be held accountable to its promises.

"Everyone has a stake in protecting the environment and needs to be able to make informed decisions, from the cars we drive, the heating sources we use, or the food we eat," wrote Criswell.

On that we agree. Montanans should expect more out of PPL and its Colstrip plant. There are cleaner ways provide energy - and jobs.

We should all work together to prevent the avoidable health risks associated with air pollution. Preventing health problems is far better - and cheaper - than trying to cure them.