Irene Dedoussi co-author in Science paper: "Mortality risk from United States coal electricity generation"
Associate Professor of the Atmospheric Impacts of Aviation, Irene Dedoussi, is co-author of a paper published in Science on 23 November 2023. In the paper researchers from among others George Mason University in Virginia, the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, the University of Texas at Austin and TU Delft describe the link between emissions of coal fired power plants in the US, the pollution they result in in the atmosphere and the effects on public health. In this work Dedoussi supported the modelling that links emissions and pollution formation.
This is an important piece of work. It highlights the negative effects of burning coal on public health, and it also underlines how important climate action can be, also from the perspective of improving public health.
Abstract Science paper/lead press release:
"Policymakers seeking to limit the impact of coal electricity-generating units (EGUs; power plants) on air quality and climate justify regulations by quantifying the health burden attributable to exposure from these sources. We defined “coal PM2.5” as fine particulate matter associated with coal EGU sulfur dioxide emissions and estimated annual exposure to coal PM2.5 from 480 EGUs in the US. We estimated the number of deaths attributable to coal PM2.5 from 1999–2020 using individual-level Medicare death records representing 650 million person-years. Exposure to coal PM2.5 was associated with 2.1 times greater mortality risk than exposure to PM2.5 from all sources. 460,000 deaths were attributable to coal PM2.5, representing 25% of all PM2.5-related Medicare deaths before 2009 and 7% after 2012. We quantify and visualize the contribution of individual EGUs to mortality."
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