Potential reductions in fine particulate matter and premature mortality following implementation of air pollution controls on coal-fired power plants in India

AbstractCoal-fired power plants (CFPPs) account for  >  70% of electricity generation in India, but <  5% of facilities have installed technologies for sulfur dioxide (SO2) and nitrogen oxide (NOX) removal. Emissions of these pollutants lead to the formation of fine particulate matter (PM2.5) and an increased risk of premature mortality for exposed populations. Here, we use a nested version of the GEOS-Chem global chemical transport model (0.5 ° × 0.625° resolution) for India to estimate reductions in PM2.5 concentrations that could have been achieved by implementing existing emission control technologies like flue-gas desulfurization (FGD) and/or selective catalytic reduction (SCR). We quantify the associated burden of disease using the integrated exposure response (IER) and global exposure mortality model (GEMM) functions and compare the costs of premature mortality to those for FGD installation. Model simulations for 2010 suggest installation of FGD would have reduced mean annual PM2.5 concentrations across India by 8%, compared to 3% with SCR installation, and 11% with both FGD and SCR. A 7 –28% reduction in PM2.5 was simulated for local communities closest to CFPPs (same model grid cell), leading to up to 17% reduction in annual premature mortality. Overall, more than 0.21 –0.48 million premature deaths would have been avoided over a 10-year period if FGD had been implemented on all CFPPs, compared to 0.09–0.21 million with SCR and 0.22–0.72 ...
Source: Air Quality, Atmosphere and Health - Category: Environmental Health Source Type: research