Risk of Nuclear Accident -- Should anything happen to the power plant -- such as in a flood, a fire, an earthquake, or a terrorist attack -- homes within 10 miles of the power plant will be in direct danger. Thus, the primary purpose of this retrospective cohort study is to estimate the association between residential proximity to power plants and risk of adverse birth outcomes including term low birth weight (LBW), preterm delivery (PTD), and very preterm delivery (VPTD) among singleton births in Florida from 2004 to 2005. Now, I know that 1% does not sound like very much, but give me a moment to explain why this is still significant. Wiesel The graph below displays the number of plants located in or near communities which meet or exceed the 80thpercentile nationally for each key demographic. For controls, we used eligible births that had none of the 3 outcomes we assessed. The photo to the right shows gas venting out of an open pipe shortly before the explosion on February 7th. Text "SCIENCE" to 67369 or sign up online. et al. But HUD goes further and states that "Operating and abandoned oil and gas wells pose potentialhazards to housing, including potential fire, explosion,spray and other pollution.No existing dwelling may be located closer than 300 feet from an active or planned drilling site. Stieb Checking with the relevant authorities is good.The standard Chen Because of the use of proximity and the unavailability of specific pollutant data from the US Environmental Protection Agency's Hierarchical Bayesian Prediction Model, we were unable to disentangle the specific pollutant. While a natural gas-fired power plant emits only about half the carbon dioxide as a coal plant, thats still far from zero. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) is home to the Federal Housing Administration (FHA). Natural gas typically moves from production sites (natural gas and oil wells) through a network of small-diameter gathering pipelines to natural gas processing plants for treatment. AR For example, you could filter the data to only display the largest emitting coal-fired plants with neighboring communities above the 80th percentile nationally of low-income population. ommunities with a people of color percentage greater than the national average and a low-income percentage less than the national average. However, we have no reason to believe that this lack of adjustment results in differential misclassification. These pollutants are known to contribute to adverse health outcomes, including the development of heart or lung diseases, such as asthma and bronchitis, increased susceptibility to respiratory and cardiac symptoms, greater numbers of emergency room visits and hospital admissions, and premature deaths. J One may argue that potential confounding may be caused by other variables that we did not adjust for. Energy use in homes, commercial buildings, manufacturing, and transportation. et al. Lamson It is based on nationally consistent data and uses an approach that combines environmental indicatorsand demographics in maps and reports. More information about the Power Plant Retirements map can be foundhere. Eshoul Su Natural gas is burned to generate electricity by passing hot pressurized gases through either a combined-cycle combustion turbine (CCCT) or simple-cycle combustion turbine (SCCT) connected to an electric generator. We will L According to projections from the California Air Resources Board, stationary sources account for roughly 21% of NOx emissions, while mobile sources account for a whopping 74% of NOx emission in the state. with both a low-income percentage and people of color percentage greater than the national averages. Accessed December 6, 2014, US Power Plant Global Warming Emissions Rising in 2013 AfterYears of Decline, Birth defects in the vicinity of nuclear power plants in Germany, Congenital anomalies, prematurity, and low birth weight rates in relation to nuclear power plant proximity, Pregnancy outcome of women in the vicinity of nuclear power plants in Taiwan, Increased risk of preterm delivery in women residing near thermal power plants in Taiwan, Using the Community Multiscale Air Quality (CMAQ) Model to estimate public health impacts of PM, Maternal exposure to fine particulate matter (PM) and pregnancy outcomes: a meta-analysis, The effects of air pollution on adverse birth outcomes, Fuel sources and carbon dioxide emissions by electric power plants in the United States, Published March 2009. Logistic regression models were used to test the hypothesized associations. They produce toxic and radioactive waste and spew it into the air, poisoning the environment, sickening people, and causing climate change. Oh wait These results call for further investigation to confirm our results and to investigate the specific pollutants generated from power plants that are responsible for this association. The percentage of plants located in or near communities with an average greater than the national average is on the right side of the graph (green). et al. The standard 300 mm safety distance used to place natural gas pipe away from water pipeline facilities needs to be reviewed to consider accidental damage and provide safety cushion to the natural gas pipe. K Hu Exploration and reserves, storage, imports and exports, production, prices, sales. Sales, revenue and prices, power plants, fuel use, stocks, generation, trade, demand & emissions. Zou We chose first trimester because 1) first trimester exposure to PM2.5 has a strong association with adverse birth outcomes (26), and 2) it ensures that the time over which PM2.5 is averaged is similar for cases and controls. Some of the highest-polluting natural gas power plants emit over 100 tons of NOx per year, which is roughly equivalent to the NOx emissions from traveling 11 million miles(assuming an emissions rate of 8.18 grams of NOx per mile) in a diesel school bus, one of the most-polluting types of vehicles. Park Proximity to any power plant appeared to increase the odds of all adverse birth outcomes for both continuous and categorical exposure in the unadjusted model. In addition, we also overlaid geocoded active power plants and the 12 12 km grids to determine the daily PM2.5 concentrations near the power plants during the study period. State energy information, including overviews, rankings, data, and analyses. . Updated March 27, 2012. Furthermore, among the case groups, the percentages of women who had lower education, were black, lived in neighborhoods with lower income, were unmarried, had no prenatal care, smoked, or drank alcohol during pregnancy were higher compared with those in the control group (Table1). Midwest Senior Policy Manager. WebA gas-fired power plant is a type of fossil fuel power station in which chemical energy stored in natural gas, which is mainly methane, is converted successively into: thermal energy, mechanical energy and, finally, electrical energy.Although they cannot exceed the Carnot cycle limit for conversion of heat energy into useful work the excess heat may be used in Anenberg Those who were closest to nuclear plants (mean = 7.7 (SD, 1.9) g/m3) and other plants (mean = 8.5 (SD, 2.0) g/m3) were exposed to the lowest levels of PM2.5 (Figure2B; Supplementary Data). Simpson Thanks for signing up. Though UCSs legislative effort did not succeed this year, UCS is committed to finding solutions that allow us to transition away from natural gas in a way that is not only economical, but also equitable. J Ha 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. The addresses we geocoded to determine proximity to power plants were residential addresses at birth. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. Burning natural gas for energy results in fewer emissions of nearly all types of air pollutants and carbon dioxide (CO 2) than burning coal or petroleum products to produce an equal amount of energy. To our knowledge, few existing studies have evaluated the association between residential proximity to different types of power plants and adverse birth outcomes (20). Natural gas provides a cost-effective option for Bell Prenatal exposure to particulate matter less than 2.5 m in diameter for women living near different types of power plants was also determined by using National Environmental Public Health Tracking Network data. SC See the health effects of ozoneand particulate matter pollution. We also created 20 km buffers around each birth and determined the total number of power plants within this buffer (Table4). Sandie Ha, Hui Hu, Jeffrey Roth, Haidong Kan, Xiaohui Xu, Associations Between Residential Proximity to Power Plants and Adverse Birth Outcomes, American Journal of Epidemiology, Volume 182, Issue 3, 1 August 2015, Pages 215224, https://doi.org/10.1093/aje/kwv042. Oxford University Press is a department of the University of Oxford. Association Between Proximity to Power Plants and Adverse Birth Outcomes in Florida From 2004 to 2005. T HR Wellhead natural gas may contain contaminants and hydrocarbon gas liquids (HGLs) that must be removed before the natural gas can be safely transported through high-pressure, long-distance pipelines to consumers. Short, timely articles with graphics on energy, facts, issues, and trends. FHA insures home mortgages to help Americans buy homes. Chang 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). C Seigneur Sign up for email subcriptions to receive messages about specific EIA products. In general, PM2.5 concentrations tend to cluster around areas with more power plants (Figure1). The following map identifies thelocations of power plants and highlights the key demographics of people living within threemiles of those plants. Some towns in Texas have setbacks of up to 1,000 feet from a home, fresh water well, school, hospital or public park. 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. Bremner Living next to natural gas wells is no fun From health threats to truck traffic, from rank odors to sinking property values, Coloradans explain what it's like to live near We geocoded 423,719 singleton Florida births born from 2004 to 2005 and all active power plants and determined residential proximity to the nearest power plant for each birth. Shi 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. Monthly and yearly energy forecasts, analysis of energy topics, financial analysis, congressional reports. Second, just because the electric sector is cleaner than the transportation sector does not mean the electric sector is not dirty. This pattern remained consistent when daily PM2.5 concentrations near different types of power plants were examined. Director of Energy Research & Analysis, Guillermo Pereira . First, analysis of proximity as both a continuous variable and as a categorical variable addresses exposure-response relationships, but it does so in different ways with different assumptions. S Chen I once had a friend asked which of two properties they should buy due to one being near high voltage lines. My answer was simple, I would buy the o Holland Infrared video showing natural gas air pollution emissions at an Energy Corporation of America compressor station in Greene County, Pa., which is located about (20), who reported that the odds of PTD were 14 times higher among women who lived within 3 km of a thermal power plant compared with those who lived farther than 3 km. However, the distance from the line is crucial in determining the damage it causes. Please click here to see any active alerts. J RD This work was supported by grant K01ES019177 from the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (X.X.) WebDifferent countries have a different regulation regarding the measurements of where to reside from the station. In addition, women who were closest to coal plants were exposed to the highest levels of PM2.5 (mean = 10.7 (standard deviation (SD), 2.7) g/m3) during the first trimester, followed by those living close to solid waste plants (mean = 10.1 (SD, 1.8) g/m3), gas plants (mean = 9.5 (SD, 2.1) g/m3), and oil plants (mean = 9.3 (SD, 1.8) g/m3). P To access this combined power plants and neighboring communities data in theEJSCREEN mapping tool, from the mapping tool menu: More information can also be found on the Frequent Questions about Power Plants and Neighboring Communitiespage and in the Power Plants and Neighboring Communities Webinar. Lets plan for a clean energy future that does not lead to even more air pollution in communities already afflicted with pollution. McMillan Moreover, these associations showed an exposure-response relationship with closer residents having the higher odds. Martinez SC Geographical distribution of power plants and average annual levels of particulate matter less than 2.5 m in diameter (PM2.5) in Florida during the study period from 2003 to 2005. For VPTD, only oil and solid waste plants had significant associations. Additional layers which can be toggled on/off include power plant emissions, area demographics, and tribal areas. Seen here in photos before and after the accident, the 620-megawatt Kleen Energy plant had been slated to open this summer. The type of nearest power plant was also identified by fuel type. These pollutants have been linked to adverse birth outcomes in many studies. 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. D Given the high emission of sulfur dioxide and nitric oxides from power plants and the positive association between these pollutants and adverse birth outcomes, it is plausible that proximity to power plants was associated with adverse birth outcomes. A recent study by the Union of Concerned Scientists found that natural gas power plants in California will start and stop much more frequently in the future, and this increase in natural gas plant start-ups may increase NOx emissions. International energy information, including overviews, rankings, data, and analyses. Xu X et al. et al. Distance from the nearest power plants was measured in kilometers. G Reply STOP to cancel. The term LBW was defined as a birth weighing less than 2,500 g at birth and born at or after 37 weeks of gestation. Tags: You can explore the distribution of all plants for a particular demographic by selecting the label or bar for the demographic. WebDistance from the nearest power plants was measured in kilometers. JavaScript appears to be disabled on this computer. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com. X And since half of Californias natural gas power plants are concentrated in some of the most socioeconomically and environmentally disadvantaged communities in the state, these emissions harm communities that are already overburdened with pollution. Bronson The map displays all fossil fuel-fired power plants that supply electricity to the grid. These analyses showed consistent results, suggesting that residual confounding was unlikely. De Mouzon At this point you might be wondering, So how bad is it? Secure .gov websites use HTTPS JM Time is Running Out, Motorola's handy Bluetooth device adds satellite messaging to your iPhone or Android smartphone, Linux 6.2: The first mainstream Linux kernel for Apple M1 chips arrives, Sony's new headphones adopt WH-1000XM5 technology for less than half the price, The perfectly pointless $197 gadget that some people will love. A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States. Maps, tools, and resources related to energy disruptions and infrastructure. There were 150 active nonrenewable power plants with different fuel types including 17 coal plants, 66 gas plants, 3 nuclear plants, 28 oil plants, 29 solid waste plants, and 7 plants with other types of fuel (e.g., coke, etc.). The source population was all livebirths recorded by the Florida Department of Health, Office of Vital Statistics (Florida Vital Records), from January 1, 2004, through December 31, 2005 (n = 445,028). BE Although we chose PM2.5 to validate our exposure, power plants also emit other gaseous pollutants including carbon oxides, sulfur dioxide, and nitric oxides (41), all of which are highly correlated (30). R We also found that gas and oil plants had a positive association with adverse birth outcomes, especially PTD and VPTD. The exposure for this study was proximity to a nonrenewable-source power plant. After adjustment for potential confounders, living closer to any power plant increased the odds of all adverse birth outcomes compared with living farther away. In conclusion, our study found evidence of increased odds of adverse birth outcomes among women who lived closer to power plants. SI T We are a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. Researchers from this study found no evidence of risk of childhood cancer for families living 164 feet or more from power lines. The following are the required setbacks to minimize exposure at different distances: 100 feet for 50 to 133kV transmission line 150 feet for 220 to 230kV transmission line 350 feet for 500 to 550kV transmission line More information about the Power Plants and Neighboring Communities Mapping Tool can be foundhere. U.S. This is especially true because the by-products of coal plants also include toxic components including sulfur dioxide and nitric oxides, all of which are also associated with negative health outcomes (32). SA Wilhelm Maps by energy source and topic, includes forecast maps. 4.5 shows the two schemes considered by the authors. The association between adverse birth outcomes and total number of power plants within 20 km was determined. When hydrogen is added to the natural gas fuel mix, the carbon emissions fall even more. WebSince fuel cost is the major cost component of a typical natural gas power plant, a sustained increase in natural gas pricing also poses a major risk. Stolz Because pollution can travel over long distances from a power plant, the impacts of both potential increases and decreases in power plant emissions can be felt many miles away, meaning that the air quality in a community can be due to far-distant sources Bell Association Between Number of Plants Within 20 km, by Fuel Type, and Adverse Birth Outcomes in Florida From 2004 to 2005. a Adjusted for maternal age, maternal race, maternal education, marital status, census block group income, and urban neighborhood. Dong Overall, living close to solid waste, oil, and gas plants increased the odds for term LBW, PTD, and VPTD. Reports requested by congress or otherwise deemed important. X Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites. significantly reduced many of these pollutants over the past two decades, Mapping Power Plants and Neighboring Communities, GraphingPower Plants and Neighboring Communities, EJ Screening Reportfor the Clean Power Plan, Frequent Questions about Power Plants and Neighboring Communities, Power Plants and Neighboring Communities Webinar. F EPA is committed to Environmental Justice (EJ) - the fair treatment and meaningful involvement of all people. Natural gas is burned to generate heat, electricity, and hot water. Basic stages of natural gas processing and treatment. 2 Brattle Square, Cambridge MA 02138, USA A Such information would be valuable in public health efforts to reduce adverse birth outcomes. Furthermore, although power plant emissions are 1 of the major point sources of air pollution (21), which has been shown to have consistent association with adverse birth outcomes (22), there is limited information on air pollution exposure and pregnant women living close to specific types of power plants. Tools to customize searches, view specific data sets, study detailed documentation, and access time-series data. Hodges H NOXandSO2emissions contribute to the formation of ground-level ozone and fine PM, which can lead to respiratory and cardiovascular problems, and exposure to mercury can increase the possibility ofhealthissues ranging from cancer to immune system damage. we equip you to harness the power of disruptive innovation, at work and at home. In addition, when exposure was changed to number of plants within 20 km, coal plants had the highest association with all adverse birth outcomes. For example, in Ohio the setback from a homeis 100 feetfrom awell - not even from the boundary of a wellpad - and only 75 feet for a directional well. According to the US Environmental Protection Agency, power plants release toxic chemicals into the air including mercury, heavy metals, and acid gases, all of which are known to be deleterious to human health, especially that of the unborn fetus (15). For example, higher exposure to sulfur dioxide has been linked to PTD among singleton births (28) and decreased term birth weight (29). Saurel-Cubizolles S 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. Our results for covariates were consistent with those of other studies. Power Plants and Neighboring Communities (xlsx) Prenatal exposure was assigned to each birth as the average daily PM2.5 concentration over the first trimester for the grid in which it falls. Burning fossil fuels to produce electricity creates emissions of sulfur dioxide (SO2), nitrogen oxides (NOX), particulate matter (PM), carbon dioxide (CO2),mercury (Hg) and other hazardous air pollutants (HAPs), and other pollutants. Anderson Explore additional graphs that show distributions of generation and emissions for each of the demographics. You can seethe percentages by hovering your cursor over the colored bars. PTD was defined as a birth that occurred before 37 but at or after 32 weeks of gestation. et al. Roberts Peng The results remained consistent when exposure was categorized (Table3). (* edit). This analysis yielded results consistent with proximity to power plants as a measure of exposure. Which states consume and produce the most natural gas. JJ M Some places in the country, however, still have setbacks for homes that are less then 300 feet. Oudin A When you sign up you'll become a member of NRDC's Activist Network. O'Brien Quantifying the risk keep you informed with the latest alerts and progress reports. Ha Webselection of safety distance can prevent optimum utilisation of available space. Albaladejo A Better Way of Paying for a Reliable Electricity Grid, Minnesota Proves Its Readiness for Carbon-Free Electricity. et al. After adjustment for potential confounders, the associations between proximity to power plants and adverse birth outcomes remained consistent. I Some power plants also They included mother's age (continuous), maternal education (less than high school, high school graduate and/or some college, college graduate, graduate school), maternal race (white, black, Hispanic, Asian/Pacific Islander, and others), and marital status (married, unmarried). Soriano et al. On average, males weigh 150 and 200 g more than females (36) given term birth, and they have a 9%24% increased risk for PTD (37). Exposures to levels of particulate matter less than 2.5 m in diameter (PM2.5) stratified by power plant type in Florida from 2003 to 2005. We unfortunately did not have residential mobility information to address this issue. When stratified for different types of power plants, the results remained generally consistent. All rights reserved. N We also compared the odds for different buffer sizes of <5, 59.9, 1019.9, and 20 km from a power plant. After examining other proximity cutpoints, we chose these categories because they showed the best discrimination in the unadjusted analyses. However, proximity was our best available surrogate for exposure, and it potentially captures all the pollutants emitted by different types of power plants. In his role, he leads research and advocacy efforts in California and other Western states to advance the transition to a less polluting and less carbon-intensive energy system. Natural gas already emits half the CO 2 emissions of a coal-fired power plant. Like most retrospective studies, this study has several limitations. Subscribe to feeds for updates on EIA products including Today in Energy and What's New. In the continuous exposure analyses, only solid waste plants (OR = 1.03, 95% CI: 1.01, 1.04) had an association with term LBW for each 5-km decrease in distance. M S Roussos-Ross et al. The 50 mile safe distance that the U.S. government recommended to Americans was shown on the map. Some women may spend most of their time outside their residential home; therefore, their exposure may be different from that estimated. Do not touch the fence because it might be electrified, and the guards might mistake you for an anti-nuclear activist trying to break in. Apart fr