Environmental activists say a Bush administration plan to speed construction of power plants will make it harder to force older plants to adopt modern pollution-control technology.

        As a result, the potential health damage caused by older power plants could continue unchecked for years, say members of the Sierra Club and the Boston-based Clean Air Task Force.

        The first in a series of public hearings on power plant regulations begins today in Cincinnati. Activists have organized radio ads and demonstrations.

        At 1 p.m. today at the Hyatt Regency Hotel downtown, the U.S. Environmen tal Protection Agency will gather public comment on a proposal to weaken the Clean Air Act.

        The proposal calls for loosening regulations to allow quicker construction of new plants and expansion of existing power plants.

        “We agree that we may need more power, but we do not agree that there needs to be any relaxation of environmental standards,” said George Leikauf, a University of Cincinnati air pollution researcher.

        Dr. Bill Hardy, a lung disease expert with Children's Hospital Medical Center, said any change that increases air pollution would be harmful to children with asthma. Greater Cincinnati has seen rising numbers of asthmatic children.

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