keep you informed with the latest alerts and progress reports. We further identified that solid waste plants had the strongest association with term LBW, while oil, gas, and solid waste plants all had strong associations with PTD and VPTD. Burning fossil fuels at power plants creates emissions of sulfur dioxide (SO2), nitrogen oxides (NOX), particulate matter (PM), carbon dioxide (CO2),mercury (Hg), and other pollutants. We obtained the odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals for the increase in odds of having adverse birth outcomes for each 5 km closer to any power plant. H You can seethe percentages by hovering your cursor over the colored bars. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com. Energy-Related Carbon Dioxide Emissions, Energy-Related Carbon Dioxide Emissions at the State Level, through 2018, Monthly Crude Oil and Natural Gas Production, Annual Solar Photovoltaic Module Shipments Report, Midwest and Rocky Mountain Transportation Fuels Markets, East Coast and Gulf Coast Transportation Fuels Markets. All rights reserved. Y G Figure1 shows a map of the spatial distribution of active power plants and the average annual PM2.5 concentrations in Florida during 20032005. Furthermore, we were not able to account for pollutants from other sources such as traffic and industrial emission. Morara 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. To compare continuous and categorical characteristics for participants with and without the 3 adverse birth outcomes, we performed t tests and 2 tests. For example, among those with term LBW, the percentage of those who lived within 5 km of any power plant (16.1%) was higher than that of controls (14.9%). Covariates were chosen on the basis of a directed acyclic graph (Supplementary Data available at http://aje.oxfordjournals.org/). JK HS . Zhang P Thanks to the Northeast Ohio Gas Accountability Project (NEOGAP) for this information. Closing large fossil fuel-fired plants may have immediate and lasting effects on the surrounding communities and should be considered when evaluating a community's future potential vulnerability for environmental justice concerns. Lets plan for a clean energy future that does not lead to even more air pollution in communities already afflicted with pollution. T This finding is plausible as these plants produce high concentrations of nitric oxides that have been found to increase the odds of these outcomes (30, 33). Does EIA have maps or information on the location of natural gas and oil pipelines? Albaladejo Dominici Hu Bell Union of Concerned Scientists Monthly and yearly energy forecasts, analysis of energy topics, financial analysis, congressional reports. A recent risk analysis estimated that particulate matter less than 2.5 m in diameter (PM2.5) and ozone, estimated from the 2005 air quality level, were responsible for 130,000 and 4,700 excess deaths, respectively (9). In general, PM2.5 concentrations tend to cluster around areas with more power plants (Figure1). JM Ha Comprehensive data summaries, comparisons, analysis, and projections integrated across all energy sources. Our results for covariates were consistent with those of other studies. Given that PM2.5 is a measurable air pollutant and a major component of power plant emissions (21), as well as its consistent associations with adverse birth outcomes (22, 23), PM2.5 can serve as a good indicator for air pollution from power plants. I The study also found that women living near 1 or more power plants located within a 20 km radius from their residence had higher odds of adverse birth outcomes. C 3rd Moreover, these associations showed an exposure-response relationship with closer residents having the higher odds. Which states consume and produce the most natural gas. Because living near power plants may expose people to additional sources of air pollution, this proximity may increase their risk of having negative health endpoints. Ha et al. To ensure that clustering was not influencing our results, we performed a sensitivity analysis using the number of power plants within 20 km as exposure. Therefore, this discrepancy is likely to bias our results toward the null. JI SI The following map identifies thelocations of power plants and highlights the key demographics of people living within threemiles of those plants. LA These associations remained consistent for PTD and VPTD when exposures were categorized (Table2). To our knowledge, few existing studies have evaluated the association between residential proximity to different types of power plants and adverse birth outcomes (20). Otos The exposure for this study was proximity to a nonrenewable-source power plant. EH J b Nuclear plants are categorized differently because there are no births with 2 or more nuclear plants within 20 km. But coal is just about the dirtiest way to produce electricity, so almost anything will seem cleaner in comparison. Seigneur However, the distance from the line is crucial in determining the damage it causes. While a natural gas-fired power plant emits only about half the carbon dioxide as a coal plant, thats still far from zero. In Scheme 1, the syngas that results from coal gasification was divided into two parts; one part went to the Halonen For each plant, EPA summarized population percentages ofsix key demographics and demographic indexfor the neighboring communities located within three miles of each plant. Cifuentes Zeitlin Rabczenko We used logistic regression models to investigate the association between proximity to a power plant and the adverse birth outcomes. X EPA is committed to Environmental Justice (EJ) - the fair treatment and meaningful involvement of all people. C WebDistance from the nearest power plants was measured in kilometers. At this point you might be wondering, So how bad is it? Strmgren To describe exposures to PM2.5 during pregnancy and throughout the study period according to nearest power plants, we used scatterplots with locally weighted scatterplot smoothing (LOESS) functions (smooth = 0.5) to display averaged daily concentrations during the first trimester (y-axis) by date of delivery (x-axis), as well as daily concentrations (y-axis) by date during the study period (x-axis). HR Power Plants and Neighboring Communities (xlsx) International energy information, including overviews, rankings, data, and analyses. 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. (* edit). In addition, when exposure was changed to number of plants within 20 km, coal plants had the highest association with all adverse birth outcomes. X In general, the concentrations of PM2.5 were highest around coal plants followed by solid waste, gas, oil, other, and nuclear plants (Figure2A). This analysis yielded results consistent with proximity to power plants as a measure of exposure. ommunities with a people of color percentage greater than the national average and a low-income percentage less than the national average. Moreover, there is recent evidence suggesting that harmful emissions from power plants may be increasing (16). Learn more. In populous cities, the percentage of deaths attributable to PM2.5 and ozone ranges from 3.5% in San Jose to 10% in Los Angeles (both in California) (9). Some places in the country, however, still have setbacks for homes that are less then 300 feet. Wu et al. The graph below compares the key demographics ofcommunities near power plants to national averages. Table2 provides the unadjusted and adjusted odds ratios for the association between proximity to power plants and term LBW, PTD, and VPTD. et al. Spengler Explore additional graphs that show distributions of generation and emissions for each of the demographics. Anenberg When stratified for different types of power plants, the results remained generally consistent. Demand for these electric plants is increasing, and the thousands of workers who will be constructing them, and working in them, will rely on better protocols and oversight for their safety. CA Brook A blog on science, politics, and activism. Note: The demographic information is obtained from the U.S. Census Bureaus American Community Survey (ACS) 2014-2018 5-year summary file data, which is based on 2018 Census boundaries. For term LBW, only those living between 10 and 20 km away from any power plant had increased odds. We unfortunately did not have residential mobility information to address this issue. For controls, we used eligible births that had none of the 3 outcomes we assessed. To describe prenatal exposures to PM2.5, we estimated average daily residential exposures to PM2.5 during pregnancy for each birth using data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's National Environmental Public Health Tracking Network. Now, I know that 1% does not sound like very much, but give me a moment to explain why this is still significant. Compared with pregnant women who lived with no power plants within a 20 km radius, women living near 2 power plants had a 7% increased odds of term LBW (OR = 1.07, 95% CI: 1.01, 1.12), 12% increased odds of PTD (OR = 1.12, 95% CI: 1.09, 1.15), and 17% increased odds of VPTD (OR = 1.17, 95% CI: 1.09, 1.25). . EIA's free and open data available as API, Excel add-in, bulk files, and widgets. Chang When you select a power plant marker, a small window displays plant data such asemissions, generation, fuel type, and key demographics for the communities within three miles of the plant. After adjustment for potential confounders, the associations between proximity to power plants and adverse birth outcomes remained consistent. Underground Natural Gas Storage by Storage Type, The Basics of Underground Natural Gas Storage, Natural Gas Processing: The Crucial Link Between Natural Gas Production and Its Transportation to Market. 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