When coal plants decrease pollution or shut down, people have fewer asthma attacks

https://www.dailyclimate.org/asthma-coal-fired-power-plant-2645716087.html?fbclid=IwAR1jmUMyRZjncF_HU5YgafEBSt1XCNkiD4YIuxbcHynKHSn2I3qtWe8XP7Y

Kristina Marusic
Apr 15, 2020


Asthma attacks decreased significantly among residents near coal-fired power plants after the plants shut down or upgraded their emission controls, according to a new study.

Coal-fired power plants emit air pollution that includes mercury, sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, and particulate matter. Living near coal-fired power plants is linked to higher rates of respiratory and cardiovascular disease, and cancer, and premature death.

According to a study published this week in the journal Nature Energy, when those plants shut down or upgrade their emissions controls, rescue inhaler use, emergency room visits and hospitalizations for asthma all decrease among nearby residents. The study is the first to show decreased inhaler use following a reduction in pollution from coal plants, and builds on previous evidence that living near these facilities leads to increased asthma exacerbations.

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In the months following scrubber installation, Casey and her colleagues saw an average reduction of inhaler use of about 17 percent, with continued declining use after that.

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In 2014, coal-fired power plants accounted for 63 percent of sulfur dioxide emissions in the nation. The 2012 federal Mercury and Air Toxics (MATS) rule required all coal-fired plants to install scrubbers that reduce toxics like mercury and sulfur dioxide in emissions by 2015 (or 2016 if they got a special extension). During 2015, plants that had recently installed this equipment reduced their sulfur dioxide emissions by 49 percent.

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