The economy, electricity, political power, and health in 2007, the u. Probable agents related to coal dust fall into the five categories summarized in this outline. Coal pollutants trigger asthma attacks in com bination. Current estimates indicate that the stroke death rate for men is 33. Current annual electricity production at callide c power station 5,152,380. Human trafficking resource paper national center on.
Cdc coal workers health surveillance program forms niosh. Coals serious adverse health impacts are broadly accepted by scientific and medical. Dea position paper on the health impacts of coal 1 coal is a health hazard pollution from coal can affect all major body organ systems and contributes to the leading causes of morbidity and mortality in the usa. The best available, yet conservative, estimate of the annual number of deaths, globally, occurring because of the small amount of humaninduced climate change to date is about 300,000400,000. Due to its high energy generation potential, coal is widely used in power generation in different countries. This letter details what we consider could be a number of serious health impacts from the existing mine at a time when proposed expansion of the mine is proceeding though the eis process. A new report out this morning from the group physicians for social responsibility outlines an assault on human health by the mining of coal, the. Trump just killed a study looking into the health effects. Nov 12, 2009 physicians for social responsibility has released a groundbreaking medical report, coals assault on human health, which takes a new look at the devastating impacts of coal on the human body. According to the national institute for occupational safety and health, the fatality rate for coal mining in 2006 was 49. French, phd pegasus environmental services alaska summary.
Submission of comments on waratah coals proposed galilee. A total of 202 children were treated for head injuries at university hospitals trauma center in 20 some of them for sportsrelated concussions. Burning coal for energy comes at a significant cost to human health. Health threats of coal development alaska community. Coals assault on human health alaska community action. Coal combustion releases mercury, particulate matter, nitrogen oxides, sulfur dioxide, and dozens of other.
The ongoing global geoengineering insanity continues to decimate the biosphere, human health, and the entire web of life. In addition, the discharge of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere associated with burning coal is a major contributor to global warming and its adverse effects on health worldwide. Human health impacts are just that and an eis should not pick and choose whose health will be considered and whose health should be ignored. The growing realization that concussions in sports can have lasting and cumulative damage to the brain, particularly in children and adolescents. The best available, yet conservative, estimate of the annual number of deaths, globally, occurring because of the small amount of human induced climate change to date is about 300,000400,000. Trump just killed a study looking into the health effects of coal in central appalachia understanding the risks of living near mountaintop removal mining sites just stalled. Pollutants from coal damage all major organ systems in the human body and contribute to four. Human health and environmental impacts of coal combustion and. According to coal s assault on human health, a report by the nonprofit physicians for social responsibility psr, coal combustion releases mercury, nitrogen oxides, sulfur dioxide and other. Research on how human health is impacted by energy resources such as coal is an emerging area.
Safety and health administration briefing september 2010. Detrimental health effects are associated with every aspect of coal s life cycle, including mining, hauling, preparation at the power plant, combustion, and the disposal of postcombustion wastes. Construction of the kusile power plant would impose severe negative health effects on the population of south africa. Coal s assault on human health 29 patients with hypertension and diabetes as well as improvements in smoking cessation efforts, stroke is still an important cause of death in the u. Thus in addressing question 2 we ask the cefc to make a statement that. At every stagefrom mining, transportation, storage, combustion and disposal of postcombustion wastes coal development threatens human and environmental health. Probable causes of adverse effects of chronic coal dust exposure on human and environmental health preliminary analysis john s. Scientific evidence of health effects from coal use in energy generation the health care research collaborative was developed to meet a need expressed by hospital and health system executives for more research and data to assist them in their efforts to make more sustainable choices in health care design, construction, operations and organization. Coals assault on human health environmental and energy study. The social and economic consequences of the fossil fuel supply chain volume 3 carol olson, frank lenzmann. End music the usgs has been digging into this field called medical geology for some time, and today we are joined by three usgs scientists to discuss this research, specifically the links between coal resources and kidney diseases. Presented by earthjustice harm to human health from.
Scientific evidence of health effects from coal use in energy. Inhalation of respirable coal dust causes pneumoconiosis, or black lung disease permanent scarring of lung tissues in coal. Domestic combustion of coal in china has, in some cases, severely affected human health. Cdc coal workers health surveillance program forms. Coal combustion releases mercury, particulate matter, nitrogen oxides, sulfur dioxide, and dozens of other substances known to be hazardous to. The effort to expose and halt this insanity will take all of us. Waking others up to the critical climate engineering issue by sharing credible data from a credible source is the most effective strategy in this battle.
This study retrospectively investigated national mortality rates for the years 19792005. According to coals assault on human health, a report by the nonprofit physicians for social responsibility psr, coal combustion releases mercury, nitrogen oxides, sulfur dioxide and other. The social and economic consequences of the fossil fuel. Coals assault on human health, physicians for social responsibility report nov 2009. Hospitalization patterns associated with appalachian coal mining. Summary burning coal for energy comes at a significant cost to human health. Coals serious adverse health impacts are broadly accepted by scientific and medical communities and include. Even when its sitting in storage, coal threatens human health by akshaya jha, the conversation coal stockpile at a milwaukee, wisconsin power plant, 2011. An interesting question, human rights organisations and international lawyers bodies, courts, institutes and universities for environmental rights, climate justice, business, health and human rights analysing and monitoring now the responsibles key persons and companies.
The coal mining industry is the leading cause of fatal injuries in the united states. Both on a local and regional scale, human health has been adversely affected by coals containing arsenic. Coal contractor plan pdf icon pdf 152 kb omb 09200020 cdcniosh 2. Acland coal mines, queensland we enclose a letter dated 22. The impact and effects of human trafficking often mirror those of other criminal activities such as domestic violence, sexual assault. Epa has conducted previous studies identifying human health and environmental damages caused by mining and mineral processing waste management activities.
The program is staffed by trained niosh personnel who. State departments 2011 trafficking in persons report covers instances of human trafficking in 184 countries around the world. Chealaska teleconference recorded february 15, 2012 download the presentation and click play to listen to the podcast. The book is an expansion of a 2009 paper by physicians for social responsibility, coal s assault on human health, available for free on the psr website. B al sb sb sb sb sb sb as as hg mn b b b ni ni ni mo mn mn mn mn ni mn cd cd cd cd zn zn va tl pb tl pb pb pb cr cr cr cr cr cr pm 2. Harm to human health from breathing and ingesting coal ash toxicants.
Examination of potential sources of bias in the us coal. Human health and environmental damages from mining and. The history of the adventures of joseph andrews, and his friend mr abraham adams, appeared in february 1742, and its author received from andrew millar, the publisher, the sum of l183, 11s. He previously wrote an article on medical geology for the november 2001 issue of geotimes.
Journal of toxicology and environmental health, part a, 70. Coals assault on human health physicians for social responsibility has released a groundbreaking medical report, coals assault on human health, which takes a new look at the devastating impacts of coal on the human body. Sep 08, 2009 research on how human health is impacted by energy resources such as coal is an emerging area. If human skin comes into contact with highly contaminated water, dermatitis and irritation can follow. Health facts dirty coal is hazardous to your health. Moving beyond coalbased energy there are more than 600 coalfired plants generating electricity in the united states and another 150 new or. There are more than 600 coalfired plants generating electricity in the. Known health effects from arsenic, which is found in coal dust, include. Coals assault on human health the collaborative on.
Physicians for social responsibility has released a groundbreaking medical report, coals assault on human health, which takes a new look at the devastating impacts of coal on the human body. Some health effects of coal human activities and all our social constructs are a subsystem of the natural environment and are intrinsically dependent on the health of ecosystems. Even when its sitting in storage, coal threatens human health. Human health is therefore embedded in and intimately dependent on the natural environment. The health costs and human toll, when coupled with the rapidly chang ing economics of the energy industry that make cleaner energy sources ever more competitive financially, argue for an end to coal burning in the united states and around the world. Eu community action programme for public health 2007, grant agreement 2005114. Health threats of coal development alaska community action.
Coals assault on human health physicians for social. Candidate obama promised that his policies would bankrupt the coal industry. Pdf coal mine fires are insidious, persistent, and as widespread as the occurrence of coal itself, yet their potential adverse human health impacts. Physicians for social responsibility has released a groundbreaking medical report, coal s assault on human health, which takes a new look at the devastating impacts of coal on the human body. Four of these documents were used as the basis for preparing damage cases for this document. Nov 18, 2009 a new report out this morning from the group physicians for social responsibility outlines an assault on human health by the mining of coal, the burning of coal and the disposal of coals waste products. The health impacts of respirable coal dust on underground coal miners, exposed to high. Coal development in alaska, overview on acats website. The cost of the health burden from use of coal for energy production. Moving beyond coal based energy there are more than 600 coal fired plants generating electricity in the united states and another 150 new or.
This weeks news about peabody energy becoming the latest and final publiclytraded coal company to declare bankruptcy put an exclamation point on this devastating era for the coal industry. Presented by earthjustice harm to human health from breathing. Fastforward eight years, and that is exactly what has happened. Scientific evidence of health effects from coal use in.
Coals assault on human health the collaborative on health. Coal combustion releases mercury, particulate matter, nitrogen oxides, sulfur dioxide, and dozens of other substances known to be hazardous to human health. Twenty years ago, the national institute for occupational safety and health niosh reported on the trend in pneumoconiosis prevalence among us coal miners for 19701986. Centeno is a senior research scientist at the armed forces institute of pathology, and an associate editor of essentials of medical geology 2005. The two faces of coal opposition american energy alliance. Both of the following pdf s are available at the coal development in alaska link above on acats website. Report on excess mortality in europe in summer 2003. A briefing paper probable causes of adverse effects of.
Respirable coal dust can also exacerbate asthma and copd, and cause chronic bronchitis even in nonsmoking coal miners, at rates which approximate heavy smokers marine et al 1988. During coal combustion, no 2, another main pollutant with highly corrosive properties and strong oxidizing ability, is released and accumulates in the air and cumulatively damages the environment and health levy et al. Finkelman is a research professor at the university of texas in dallas, who recently retired from the u. For further information, there are two documents attached that outline the adverse health impacts of coal in more detail. The public health importance of air pollution is well established and is supported by robust evidence concerning the health harms associated with ambient particulate air pollution and sourcespecific indoor and outdoor air pollution, such as that resulting from forest and peat fires and domestic coal combustion lim et al.