(This information sheet was prepared by the Responsible Ilonggos for Sustainable Energy (RISE) and the Concerned Physicians of Iloilo.)
Coal-fired power plants (CFPP) emit toxic heavy metals, particulates, radioactive elements and gases which poison the air, water, and soil causing disease and death!
1. CFPP’s and so-called “clean coal” generate mercury which is poisonous.
• Fetuses, infants and children are especially at risk because of their developing minds and bodies.
• Mercury exposure can result in learning difficulties, behavioral problems like attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), allergic reactions, tiredness, headaches, sperm damage, birth defects and miscarriages, vision changes, deafness, difficulty in walking and movement, and memory loss.
• No specific therapy is available for chronic mercury poisoning.
• Mercury can travel up to 966 km from the power plant.• Mercury in the environment can make fish and other seafood unsafe to eat.
• Mercury bioaccumulates up the food chain and never disappears in the environment.
2. CFPP’s including so-called “clean coal” emit other poisons like lead, manganese, aluminum, boron and cadmium.
• These poisons can cause miscarriages, weight loss, physical and mental development delays, and problems in the respiratory, circulatory, reproductive, digestive and nervous systems.
3. CFPP’s produce cancer-causing substances.
• Heavy metals like arsenic, hexavalent chromium and cadmium are all associated with the development of cancers of the prostate, bladder and lungs.
• Dioxin in the fly ash can also cause lung cancer.
• Fluidized bed combustion releases polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) of which the most potent carcinogens are benzoanthracene and benzopyrene.
4. Burning of coal release radioactive elements thorium, uranium and radium.
• Both large and small amounts of radiation can damage our genetic material; it can destroy cells or alter its growth or function
• Other effects of large doses of radiation include suppression of the immune system and cataracts.
• Certain tissues of a fetus, particularly the brain, are especially sensitive to radiation at specific stages of development.
• Radiation can also increase the probability of cancer.
5. CFPP’s including “clean coal” still release particulate matter.
• Particulate matter (PM) lodges deeply in the lungs causing heart and lung problems.
• Particulate matter can cause cancers, asthma attacks, chronic bronchitis, strokes, heart attacks, congestive heart failure, hypertension, premature deaths, sleep disturbances, lower birth weights, premature births, intrauterine deaths, birth defects, increased new born deaths due to respiratory causes.
6. CFPP’s contribute to extreme climate change due to carbon dioxide emissions which cannot be controlled by circulating fluidized bed combustion.
• Coal is the most carbon intensive of all the fossil fuels.
• Direct effects are droughts, typhoons, floods and landslides.
• Indirect effects are resurgence of vector and water-borne diseases like dengue, malaria, encephalitis and cholera; changes in food and water supplies; population displacement and economic disruption.
The health risks are greatest for people living closer to the plants. Twenty percent of the total health impact occurs on 8 percent of the population that lives within 48.27 km of the facilities.
REFERENCES :
• Beyond Coal: Power, Public Health and the Environment, Kim Perrotta, Ontario Public Health Association, Nov 2002
• Haddad, Lester, Shannon, Michael, Winchester, James. Clinical Management of Poisoning and Drug Overdose, 3rd ed., 1998
• Handbook on Childhood Poisoning, 1st Ed. Philippine Pediatric Society, Inc. Committee on Therapeutics and Toxicology.
• (Harvard School of Public Health Report 2000)Kaplan and Sadock’s Synopsis of Psychiatry.2007. 10th Ed,
• McMichael, Tony. 2001. Human Frontiers, Environment and Disease.
• Natural Resources Defense Council, September 2007.
• Needleman, Herbert, P. Landrigan. 1994. Raising Children Toxic Free.
• Nelson Textbook of Pediatrics. 15th Ed.
• Wrisley, Jeff. Report on “Adverse Effects of Coal Burning Power Plants in Michigan”.
