Coal Pollution: A Double Whammy to Public Health

Maye Thompson, RN, PhD

In 1961, a group of physicians published a study on the New England Journal of Medicine, warning about the threat to the public’s health presented by atmospheric nuclear testing. This event was an important link in the chain that lead to the 1963 ban on atmospheric testing of nuclear weapons.

Although global warming is often framed as an environmental problem, a growing consensus in the public health community suggests significant health consequences around the globe. These include increases in heat-related diseases, insect-borne and water-borne diseases such as malaria and West Nile virus, extreme weather events, food and water shortages, and conflict over diminished resources. Many of these effects are already apparent.

The details of these connections are well-documented in Coal’s Assault on Human Health, a report released last week by Physicians for Social Responsibility. Our reliance on coal threatens health through its contribution to greenhouse gas emissions. Coal-fired power plants account for more than one third of carbon dioxide emissions in the U.S.

But Oregonians don’t need to worry much about coal, right? The truth is about 40% of the electricity in Oregon comes from coal. Portland General Electric’s Boardman coal plant is the single largest point-source of carbon dioxide pollution in Oregon; it is also the largest point-source for nitrogen oxides, sulfur oxides and mercury, which pose serious threats to human health.

Pollution from coal contributes to four of the five leading causes of mortality in the US: heart disease, cancer, stroke, and chronic lower respiratory disease. Children exposed to mercury from coal can experience developmental delays and permanently reduced intelligence. And we count these costs of coal, not in the price per ton, but in increased health care costs.

The negative impacts of coal are unacceptable.  A public health approach to reducing:

1. Emissions of carbon dioxide should be cut as deeply and as swiftly as possible, with the objective of reducing CO2 levels to 350 parts per million, through strong climate legislation. The EPA should be fully empowered to regulate carbon dioxide under the CAA so that coal's contribution to global warming can be brought to an end.
2. The U.S. should dramatically reduce fossil fuel power plant emissions of sulfur and nitrogen oxides so that all localities are in attainment for national ambient air quality standards.
3. The EPA should establish a standard, based on Maximum Achievable Control Technology, for mercury and other hazardous air pollutant emissions from electrical generation.
4. Finally, the nation must develop its capacity to generate electricity from clean, safe, renewable sources. In place of investment in coal, the U.S. should fund improvements in energy efficiency, the expansion of conservation measures, and the research, development, and implementation of clean, safe, renewable energy sources such as wind energy, solar, and wave power.

For health and a safe climate, we need a clean new energy policy. How many more studies and reports about the negative effects of coal and global warming upon our health, our environment and our children’s future will be necessary before we see substantive policy change?  We need to work at the local, state and federal level to address the most important challenge of the 21st century.  There is no time to waste.

Dr. Maye Thompson, RN, PhD is the Environmental Health Program Director at Oregon Physicians for Social Responsibility.