Three years after a Pittsburgh-area coal plant closed, research has discovered that children’s asthma-related visits to the ER dropped by more than 41%.
According to Philly Voice, the Shenango Coke Works in Avalon shut down in 2016 after years of public outcry.
The plant operated for over 50 years and produced a concentrated form of coal commonly called “coke,” which is used in steel manufacturing.
Coke plants are known for releasing high levels of dangerous pollutants like benzene, sulfur dioxide, and particulate matter.
A study, published in the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, found that the closure has had a profoundly positive impact on the health of local children.
“Our findings add to the growing body of evidence that reducing fossil-fuel-related air pollution emissions produces especially large public health benefits, both in the short and longer term,” the researchers said, per Philly Voice.
The researchers also found a 20.5% drop in weekly respiratory visits among the general population following the closure, along with long-term declines in hospital visits for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.
These findings come as many communities across the globe are turning away from coal. For instance, the U.K. shut down its last coal plant in September 2024. One Utah coal town is transitioning into a clean energy leader as it completes a hydrogen-capable power plant.
In an interview with Inside Climate News, George Thurston, a professor at New York University’s School of Medicine, noted that pollution caused by coke making is especially harmful, saying that it’s like “coal-fired power plant particles, but on steroids.”
However, he added that the health impacts of these plants are indicative of the broader health threat from dirty energy sources, which also include oil and natural gas.
“We’re all exposed to [pollution from dirty energy] every single day,” he told ICN. “We’re bathed in it. All throughout our lives, day and night, every day of the week, we’re exposed to this when we drive on roads, when we get on a train, when we go to the city. I know because I carry an air monitor around with me, and I see the exposures.”
Meanwhile, retiring coal is not just a win for clean air, but it will also help curb the overheating of our planet — dirty energy sources produce over 75% of all planet-warming pollution, according to the United Nations.
“The immediate respiratory health benefits observed are consistent with the significant large reduction of airway irritants, and longer-term reductions may represent lung repair following the closure,” the study’s authors concluded, as Philly Voice shared.
“These lung health benefits from reduced fossil fuel air pollution appear remarkably consistent with the lung function and airway inflammation benefits experienced by smokers with asthma after they quit smoking.”
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