Coal Plant Closure Results in Immediate Drop in ER Visits, Study Shows

Key TakeawaysCoal-fired power plants release harmful pollutants into the airShuttering a coal plant resulted in immediate improvements in respiratory healthRespiratory-related emergency room visits decreased by about 20 percent within weeks of a Pennsylvania plant’s closure.WEDNESDAY, July 23, 2025 (HealthDay News) —Coal-fired power plants release a slew of harmful pollutants into the air, causing an uptick in risk for breathing woes, and closing such plants could result in an immediate drop in respiratory-related ER visits for kids and adults, a new study shows.Within weeks after the shuttering of the Shenango Coke Works plant near Pittsburgh, respiratory-related emergency room visits dropped by about 20%, according to research published July 22 in the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine. The plant, which baked coal to produce coke for steelmaking, closed in January 2016 for several reasons, including reduced demand for steel and protests from neighboring communities.Burning coal can produce sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, particulate matter or PM2.5 — particles that are 2.5 microns or less in diameter — and carbon dioxide among other pollutants, all of which contribute to respiratory diseases, the U.S. Energy Information Administration warns. “The adverse reductions in respiratory health effects were much greater than expected, based on past studies of general air pollution in the U.S., indicating that emissions from such fossil fuel-related sources are especially toxic,” senior author George Thurston, a professor at the NYU Grossman School of Medicine in New York City, said in a news release.For the study, researchers tracked the health effects of air pollution on residents near the Shenango plant before and after its closure in 2016, using local and federal air quality monitors. In the first month after the closure, pediatric asthma visits dropped by 41%, and continued to fall by 4% each month through the end of the study period.“By tracking health outcomes before and after the coke plant closure, we were able to isolate the effects of reduced air pollution and observe that cleaner air translates into fewer respiratory emergency visits and hospitalizations,” said study author Wuyue Yu, a postdoctoral fellow at NYU Grossman School of Medicine. “This study provides rare, in-the-field evidence that the closure of a major industrial pollution source can lead to immediate and lasting improvements in the lung health of the those who live nearby,” she added in a news release.More informationThe U.S. Energy Information Administration has more information on reducing the environmental effects of coal use.SOURCE: American Thoracic Society, news release, July 21, 2025 .What This Means For YouIf you live near a coal-fired power plant, the pollutants it emits might be tough on your health..Sign up for our weekly HealthDay newsletter

Coal Plant Closure Results in Immediate Drop in ER Visits, Study Shows

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