New Report Says Burning Coal in Europe Costs Billions in Health Care

Many of you are aware that former EPA Regional Administrator Al Armendariz is now heading-up a Sierra Club effort to close the remaining old coal plants in East and Central Texas that have plagued downwind communities, including DFW, for decades. One big reason is the direct connection between the kinds of pollution these plants release, like Particulate Matter, and their known health effects. Based on past studies, scientists are able to determine what levels of air pollution cause what level of medical responses.

Last week, something called the Health and Environmental Alliance released a report that used that methodology to add up what it said was all the early deaths, hospitalizations, medications and reduced productivity caused by breathing coal plant pollution in Europe and came up with a total of $55 billion a year. It's the first-ever calculation of the effects of coal-fired power generation on chronic lung disease and some heart conditions for the entire continent.

Significantly, it has found that the effects of the pollution which coal incineration causes are not confined to people living close to power stations, but can affect entire populations in varying degrees.

Burning coal to generate electricity worsens a group of conditions known as chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases, the report said. These include emphysema, breathing obstructions and bronchitis. It also aggravates asthma and worsens heart disease.

HEAL says the elderly and the young are at particular risk, with lung damage sustained in childhood reducing the chances of achieving maximum lung function in adult life.

We haven't seen any similar studies of the costs of breathing coal plant pollution in Texas or DFW, but they could be large since we're directly downwind of the state's "lignite belt" where almost all the older, dirtier coal plants are located.