Soot from coal-fired power plants more deadly than soot from other sources, study shows

Coal-fired power plants have been a major source of soot pollution in the United States, and this has had a devastating impact on public health. A new study in Science found that soot from coal plants is more harmful than soot from other sources, and that it caused at least 460,000 deaths in the past 20 years, including a quarter of all deaths among Medicare recipients before 2009.

The study also shows an interactive map that reveals some positive trends. As a result of stricter federal clean air rules, cheaper gas-fired power plants and environmental lawsuits, many coal plants have been shut down or cleaned up in recent years. This has led to a significant reduction in deaths linked to coal plant soot. Illinois, for example, had 25,000 deaths related to coal plant pollution, but only a fraction of them occurred after 2009.

25,000 deaths related to coal plant pollution

Illinois witnessed 25,000 deaths linked to coal plant pollution during the period under review, surpassing only Pennsylvania, New York, and Ohio. The accompanying interactive map, featured in the Science journal, offers some glimpses of optimism amid these sobering statistics.

"The fact that they estimated more than 40,000 deaths a year two decades ago and the number is now down to 1,600 a year is a pretty remarkable success story," said Jonathan Levy, chair of the Department of Environmental Health at Boston University, who wasn't involved in the study.

Soot, also referred to as particulate matter, is a result of incomplete combustion and can be generated through chemical interactions involving sulfur dioxide from fossil fuel power plants and other atmospheric compounds. The variant of soot that raises significant concerns among public health researchers, PM2.5, is so minuscule that thousands of these fine particles could occupy the space of the period at the end of this sentence.

Inhaling even minor amounts of soot can cause lung inflammation and trigger asthma attacks. Earlier research has linked soot exposure to heart attacks and premature death.

The recent study coincides with efforts by President Joe Biden's administration to strengthen the national limit on soot pollution, potentially leading to new regulations for power plants and other industrial sources.

While utilities have historically resisted clean air laws, the main trade group for investor-owned utilities seems more focused on the implementation challenges of the Biden proposal rather than outright opposition.

"The electric industry has significantly reduced air pollutants such as (sulfur dioxide), (nitrogen oxide), and hazardous air pollutants such as mercury," noted Sarah Durdaller, a spokesperson for the Edison Electric Institute, in an email. "Additional emissions reductions are expected as the industry continues its clean energy transition."

Illinois coal plants linked to more soot-related deaths

The Chicago Tribune's analysis of the interactive map in the recent study highlights the potential challenges posed by former President Donald Trump's attempts to weaken the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), roll back clean air laws, and delegate regulatory decisions to states. These efforts could have hindered ongoing efforts to reduce deaths associated with coal plant pollution.

Specifically, the study reveals that Illinois coal plants were linked to more soot-related deaths in Wisconsin and Iowa than coal plants in those states, and vice versa. The findings indicate that pollution from coal plants doesn't adhere to state boundaries, as emissions from plants in Illinois were associated with deaths in distant states like North Carolina, North Dakota, and Texas.

"Pollution doesn't respect state boundaries," said the study's lead author, Lucas Henneman, a professor of environmental engineering at George Mason University.

The study combines EPA emissions data with a vast Medicare enrollee database and utilizes computer models to trace how emissions from individual coal plants contribute to soot-related deaths across states.

An editorial in the same issue of Science, by researchers at Yale and Columbia, underscores that the benefits of reducing coal plant pollution, as revealed by Henneman's study, are more significant than previously believed.

Progress made, challenges remain, EPA crucial

While PM2.5 particles are invisible, the study highlights the tangible impact of soot pollution, citing the example of smoke from Canadian wildfires making the air visibly dirty. Francesca Dominici, a Harvard biostatistics professor involved in the study, connects soot exposure to COVID-19 deaths.

Bruce Nilles, former director of the Sierra Club's Beyond Coal campaign, acknowledges progress in reducing deaths associated with coal plant pollution, attributing it to the closure or planned retirement of numerous coal-fired power plants. However, he emphasizes that challenges persist, indicating the need for EPA intervention to ensure comprehensive protection.

Currently, about a fifth of the nation's electric generation comes from coal plants, down significantly from over half a decade ago. The study identifies that eight closed or closing coal plants in and around Chicago were linked to 5,660 soot-related deaths between 1999 and 2020.

Nilles concludes that while substantial progress has been made, the study underscores existing challenges and emphasizes the ongoing role of the EPA in safeguarding public health.

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