Coal is responsible for over 800,000 premature deaths per year globally and many millions more serious and minor illnesses. For controls, we used eligible births that had none of the 3 outcomes we assessed. The type of nearest power plant was also identified by fuel type. Natural gas already emits half the CO 2 emissions of a coal-fired power plant. Natural gas power accounts for about 20 percent of the nation's electricity. The following map identifies thelocations of power plants and highlights the key demographics of people living within threemiles of those plants. More research is warranted to better understand the causal relationship. air pollution, California, clean energy, emissions, natural gas, NOx. (617) 547-5552. Receive urgent alerts about opportunities to defend science. Still, being aware of the characteristics of communities closest to power plants is a starting point in understanding the potential sources of pollution that may impact a community and how changes in a power plants air emissions may affect the air quality experienced by some of those already vulnerable to environmental burdens. Natural gas processing can be complex and usually involves several steps to remove oil, water, HGLS, and other impurities such as sulfur, helium, nitrogen, hydrogen sulfide, and carbon dioxide. Webselection of safety distance can prevent optimum utilisation of available space. Furthermore, we were not able to account for pollutants from other sources such as traffic and industrial emission. Moreover, there is recent evidence suggesting that harmful emissions from power plants may be increasing (16). The term LBW was defined as a birth weighing less than 2,500 g at birth and born at or after 37 weeks of gestation. Natural gas is stored in large volumes in underground facilities and in smaller volumes in tanks above or below ground. One of the reasons for the differences may be a result of the spatial clustering of power plants. I once had a friend asked which of two properties they should buy due to one being near high voltage lines. My answer was simple, I would buy the o For term LBW, only those living between 10 and 20 km away from any power plant had increased odds. This finding has also been observed in Taiwan by Tsai et al. When stratifying by different fuel type, we found that only solid waste had an association with term LBW, whereas oil, gas, and solid waste all had an association with PTD and VPTD. The impurities in wellhead natural gas determine the number of stages and the processes required to produce pipeline-quality, dry natural gas. This post was originally published on Smartplanet.com. Though UCSs legislative effort did not succeed this year, UCS is committed to finding solutions that allow us to transition away from natural gas in a way that is not only economical, but also equitable. . If a community is at or above the 80thpercentile nationally, it means that the community's population for a given demographic (for example, low-income) is an equal or higher percentage than where 80%of the U.S. population lives. et al. Y O'Brien We are a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. T As noted in the Data Considerations section, information about the adjacent communities can be used to raise awareness and to help people understand the extent to which there may be disproportionate, adverse impacts on overburdened communities. These associations remained consistent for PTD and VPTD when exposures were categorized (Table2). The association between adverse birth outcomes and total number of power plants within 20 km was determined. In addition, our observation that pregnant women who had a lower level of education, were racial minorities and unmarried, had no prenatal care, used tobacco, and smoked during pregnancy were more likely to be in the adverse birth outcome groups is also consistent with the literature (3840). spreadsheet presents all the information available through EPA's environmental justice mapping and screening tool,EJSCREEN. CA Therefore, we were not able to account for local variation smaller than this spatial resolution. We wish to thank the Florida Department of Health for supplying the data. Lee The lack of a positive association could be explained by the fact that, compared with other types of plants, nuclear plants do not emit as many atmospheric pollutants in high concentrations (e.g., PM2.5, sulfur dioxide, and nitric oxides) (35). Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. It is possible that socioeconomic status confounded the association that we observed in this study. Electric power sector power plants that burned fossil fuels or materials made from fossil fuels, and some geothermal power plants, were the source of about 32% of total U.S. energy-related CO 2 emissions in 2021.. D These results call for further investigation to confirm our results and to investigate the specific pollutants generated from power plants that are responsible for this association. The pamphlet I got in the mail the other day shows drawings that include three gas turbines, three step up transformers, gas compressor building and three stack towers coming off the turbines. If something happens to go wrong at a nuclear reactor, anyone living in a 10-mile radius of the plant may All types of plants had a slightly elevated association with PTD, except nuclear plants, which had a negative association (OR = 0.90, 95% CI: 0.86, 0.95), and others and coal plants with no associations. Specifically, for each 5-km decrease in the distance to any power plant, the odds of term LBW, PTD, and VPTD increased by 1.1% (odds ratio (OR) = 1.011, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.002, 1.020), 1.8% (OR = 1.018, 95% CI: 1.013, 1.023), and 2.2% (OR = 1.022, 95% CI: 1.010, 1.034), respectively. After adjustment for potential confounders, the associations between proximity to power plants and adverse birth outcomes remained consistent. J In general, PM2.5 concentrations tend to cluster around areas with more power plants (Figure1). . Some towns in Texas have setbacks of up to 1,000 feet from a home, fresh water well, school, hospital or public park. Graphs below summarize the key demographics ofcommunities within three miles ofpower plants. Uranium fuel, nuclear reactors, generation, spent fuel. PC Bremner JI Table1 shows participants' characteristics by term LBW, PTD, and VPTD. Reports requested by congress or otherwise deemed important. International energy information, including overviews, rankings, data, and analyses. Forms EIA uses to collect energy data including descriptions, links to survey instructions, and additional information. Manzanares In Scheme 1, the syngas that results from coal gasification was divided into two parts; one part went to the Exploration and reserves, storage, imports and exports, production, prices, sales. X J Y B The percentage of plants located in or near communitieswithan average of less than the national average is on the left side of the graph (blue). We overlaid geocoded residential addresses over the 12 12 km grids. LA It is an environmental justice screening and mapping tool that utilizes standarddata to highlight places that may have higher environmental burdens and vulnerable populations. (20), who reported that the odds of PTD were 14 times higher among women who lived within 3 km of a thermal power plant compared with those who lived farther than 3 km. . Ha Risk of Nuclear Accident -- Should anything happen to the power plant -- such as in a flood, a fire, an earthquake, or a terrorist attack -- homes within 10 miles of the power plant will be in direct danger. Zeitlin As close as you want, just not very close to the plant. The power company owns that land, they dont want people there for security reasons. Wilhelm H Mangones On Florida birth certificates, the gestational age in weeks is typically determined by ultrasound measurements. The source population was all livebirths recorded by the Florida Department of Health, Office of Vital Statistics (Florida Vital Records), from January 1, 2004, through December 31, 2005 (n = 445,028). Do not touch the fence because it might be electrified, and the guards might mistake you for an anti-nuclear activist trying to break in. Apart fr It furthers the University's objective of excellence in research, scholarship, and education by publishing worldwide, This PDF is available to Subscribers Only. Reply STOP to cancel. In addition, when exposure was changed to number of plants within 20 km, coal plants had the highest association with all adverse birth outcomes. The graph below compares the key demographics ofcommunities near power plants to national averages. Furthermore, when studying a proposed natural gas power plant, a California Energy Commission analysis found that local one-hour concentrations of NO2 (one form of NOx) would nearly double from their background levels. And since half of Californias natural gas power plants are concentrated in some of the most socioeconomically and environmentally disadvantaged communities in the state, these emissions harm communities that are already overburdened with pollution. In the categorical exposure analyses, we made a fundamental assumption that each power plant has a uniform effect on participants within a certain buffer. Nathanson JD Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites. ML A recent study by the Union of Concerned Scientists found that natural gas power plants in California will start and stop much more frequently in the future, and this increase in natural gas plant start-ups may increase NOx emissions. G Lets make sure we bring everyone along in the transition to clean electricity. The sample prevalence was 2.4% for term LBW, 8.2% for PTD, and 1.5% for VPTD. Particulate matter and ozone cause the extensive list of adverse health outcomes you hear at the end of a prescription drug commercial shortness of breath, heart attacks, premature death; the list goes on. The fact of the matter is that natural gas power plants still produce a significant amount of air pollution, and thats a problem. Energy & Financial Markets: What Drives Crude Oil Prices? In general, the concentrations of PM2.5 were highest around coal plants followed by solid waste, gas, oil, other, and nuclear plants (Figure2A). Wu Table3 presents the adjusted associations between proximity to power plants and term LBW, PTD, and VPTD by nearest power plant type. N Accessed December 17, 2014, Association between gaseous ambient air pollutants and adverse pregnancy outcomes in Vancouver, Canada, Ambient air pollution and term birth weight in Texas from 1998 to 2004, Traffic-related air toxics and term low birth weight in Los Angeles County, California, Association between local traffic-generated air pollution and preeclampsia and preterm delivery in the south coast air basin of California, Emissions of Hazardous Air Pollutants from Coal-fired Power Plants, Exposure to air pollution during different gestational phases contributes to risks of low birth weight, Congenital abnormalities and indicators of germinal mutations in the vicinity of the Paks nuclear plant, Hungary, Risk factors for low birth weight: a review. But coal is just about the dirtiest way to produce electricity, so almost anything will seem cleaner in comparison. This paper presents a study on underground natural gas pipeline safety distance via experimental and numerical approaches. WebThis is so because the stack is usually several 100s meters tall, so that pollutants in flue gas are dispersed in the atmosphere and only have an influence at distances in the range of HR S J L Natural gas storage during periods of low demand helps to ensure that enough natural gas is available during periods of high demand. Rabczenko In conclusion, our study found evidence of increased odds of adverse birth outcomes among women who lived closer to power plants. HL . Which states consume and produce the most natural gas. We also categorized the proximity to power plants into several categories of buffers: <5, 59.9, 1019.9, and 20 km. a Adjusted for maternal age, maternal race, marital status, census block group income, and urban neighborhood. Visintainer The failure of a single dam on the Ru River in China caused an estimated 171,000 deaths. Albaladejo Cifuentes Explore additional graphs that show distributions of generation and emissions for each of the demographics. The Author 2015. Queisser-Luft Buonocore et al. Natural gas is burned to generate electricity by passing hot pressurized gases through either a combined-cycle combustion turbine (CCCT) or simple-cycle combustion turbine (SCCT) connected to an electric generator. Senior Energy Analyst, James Gignac Fetal sex and preterm birth: Are males at greater risk? et al. RD Rahmani Sign up or text "SCIENCE" to 67369. HS When hydrogen is added to the natural gas fuel mix, the carbon emissions fall even more. The percentage of plants located in or near communities with an average greater than the national average is on the right side of the graph (green). Liu Natural gas is burned to generate heat, electricity, and hot water. 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