Study Predicts 13,200 Deaths From Coal Pollutants This Year « The Washington Independent
A new report by the Clean Air Task Force, a nonprofit environmental group, finds that pollution from coal-fired power plants will result in the premature death of more than 13,000 people this year. The report, which is an update from similar studies conducted in 2000 and 2004, says that emissions from coal plants, like sulfur dioxide (SO2) and nitrogen oxides (NOx), “continue to take a significant toll on the health and longevity of millions of Americans,” even though many of the emissions have decreased in recent years. The figures are significantly down from the 2004 study, which predicted nearly 24,000 deaths per year from coal pollutants.