Health Impacts Coal Power Plant Emissions India

Health Impacts of Coal-Fired Thermal Power Plant Emissions in India: A Critical Evaluation

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Published: 03rd October 2025 in Example Dissertation Discussion

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Discussion

Markandya and Wilkinson published their study about coal and Lignite electricity generation health effects in The Lancet medical journal during 2007. The research by Markandya and Wilkinson (2007) in The Lancet demonstrated that European power generation from coal and Lignite results in 24.5 deaths and 225 hospital-treated severe illnesses and chronic bronchitis and congestive heart failure for each TWh of electricity produced. The study demonstrated that coal and lignite electricity production leads to 13,288 cases of minor health problems. The authors established that lignite power generation leads to 298 severe health issues and 32.6 deaths and 17,676 minor health problems for every TWh of electricity produced.
Research by Šrám et al. (2005) examined air pollution effects on pregnancy results through a literature review which showed that persistent air pollution exposure during pregnancy leads to smaller newborns. The study analyzed all previous research about South Korean and Chinese PM and SO2 and CO and NO2 and ozone effects on birth weight which demonstrated that these pollutants lead to low birth weight. Gohlke et al. (2011) investigated the relationship between coal-fired power plant electricity generation and infant mortality rates in their research. The research showed that infant mortality rates increased when coal usage rose in countries with initial low to medium infant mortality rates including China, Thailand, Chile, Mexico, Australia and Germany.
Coal contains naturally occurring heavy metals which include mercury as one of its components. The combustion of coal releases mercury into the atmosphere as a gaseous substance. The United Nations estimates that power plant coal combustion produces 26% of global mercury emissions (Munthe et al., 2010). The mercury released by coal-fired power plants enters water systems where it transforms into methyl mercury which then moves through aquatic food chains (Lippmann et al., 2003). The consumption of fish containing methyl mercury leads to developmental defects in newborns which include delayed neurodevelopment and reduced intelligence and minor changes in vision and memory and language abilities (World Health Organization, 2007). Research conducted in Hong Kong and the United States and Spain showed that women who ate methyl mercury-contaminated fish had blood mercury levels exceeding safety limits which endangered their unborn children (Lam et al., 2013).
The harmful effects of fine particle pollution occur at any concentration level below ambient thresholds which prove there exists no protective threshold. Multiple research studies have identified three biological mechanisms which explain how fine particles cause health problems through accelerated atherosclerosis and systemic inflammation and heart function disturbances (Goenka, 2007). The exposure to fine particles leads to fatal health consequences that become apparent within one to two years following exposure. The reduction of coal fired power plant emissions will produce major health advantages for the public. The combination of India’s heavy dependence on coal power generation and inadequate pollution control standards has led to severe fine particle pollution throughout Northern and Central India.
The research analyzed the complete emissions from 131 coal fired power plants operating in India. The power generation capacity determined the predicted CO2, SO2 and NOX emission rates. The study used field study-derived factors of 0.82, 2.72 and 3.0 to calculate the exact number of pollutants released during each KW/H of electricity production. The researchers determined these pollutants to be the most dangerous while using established factors to calculate their total quantity. The function aimed to create a single mathematical factor that would provide noticeable advantages. The study used the intake fraction method to calculate the amount of inhaled mass in milligrams based on the released mass in kilograms. The researchers applied the total pollutant mass to a study population of five lakhs. The researchers used a factor value of 0.0075 from previous research to refine their data. The researchers determined mortality numbers by multiplying the intake fraction value with the total population count. The research demonstrated that various elements in the population lead to pulmonary disease development. The researchers determined that they could not accurately forecast pulmonary disease development. The research team established a range of values which could represent the condition during their analysis. The researchers applied the intake fraction method to estimate mortality rates from coal fired thermal power plant emissions when studying a population of five lakhs.

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