Characteristics and risk factors for adverse birth outcomes in pregnant black adolescents, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Factors associated with negative birth outcomes: findings from a birth cohort study, A case study of the relative effects of power plant nitrogen oxides and sulfur dioxide emission reductions on atmospheric nitrogen deposition, Residential mobility during pregnancy and the potential for ambient air pollution exposure misclassification, Impact of residential mobility on exposure assessment in longitudinal air pollution studies: a sensitivity analysis within the ESCAPE Project. Women who lived closer to coal and solid waste power plants were exposed to higher levels of particulate matter less than 2.5 m in diameter compared with other types. We further identified that solid waste plants had the strongest association with term LBW, while oil, gas, and solid waste plants all had strong associations with PTD and VPTD. et al. A three-mile radius isconsistent with environmental justice literature and studies, including theEJ Screening Reportfor the Clean Power Plan. Quantifying the risk KO Abbreviations: CI, confidence interval; LBW, low birth weight; OR, odds ratio; PM2.5, particulate matter less than 2.5 m in diameter; PTD, preterm delivery; SD, standard deviation; VPTD, very preterm delivery. But coal is just about the dirtiest way to produce electricity, so almost anything will seem cleaner in comparison. its plants and animals, and the natural systems on which all life depends. Characteristics of 423,719 Singleton Births in Florida From 2004 to 2005. N For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com. Neuberger Exposure to various air pollutants has also been linked to adverse pregnancy-related and birth outcomes including gestational hypertension, premature delivery, and low birth weight (1013). Y 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. Thanks to the Northeast Ohio Gas Accountability Project (NEOGAP) for this information. et al. You can explore the distribution of all plants for a particular demographic by selecting the label or bar for the demographic. Full understanding of safety distances is typically only achieved when it is too late to implement without significant changes. The Natural Resources Defense Council works to safeguard the earth - its people, UCS recently co-sponsored a bill in the California legislature that was designed to shed light on pollution from natural gas power plants and require better planning for pollution reductions from plants. The failure of a single dam on the Ru River in China caused an estimated 171,000 deaths. 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). We further stratify these associations by fuel type. The interactive map below shows recent and expected coal, natural gas, oil, and other combustion power plant retirements. How much NOx is coming from natural gas power plants? That is where things get complicated. A Better Way of Paying for a Reliable Electricity Grid, Minnesota Proves Its Readiness for Carbon-Free Electricity. 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). Bell In addition to the data presented in these maps and graphs, a Oxford University Press is a department of the University of Oxford. TA Many fossil fuel-fired power plants (especially coal-fired power plants) have announced plans to retire, based on data collected by the Energy Information Administration (EIA). Ha G In conclusion, our study found evidence of increased odds of adverse birth outcomes among women who lived closer to power plants. Not only does NOx cause respiratory problems, but NOx also reacts with other substances in the air to produce particulate matter and ozone. In Scheme 1, the syngas that results from coal gasification was divided into two parts; one part went to the 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. How Much Land Would it Require to Get Most of Our Electricity from Wind and Solar? These Experts Are Racing to Protect AI From Hackers. The following maps and graphs highlight powerplants located in or near communities with one or more of the six key demographics at or above the 80thpercentile nationally. The main pollutants resulting from natural gas electricity generation are nitrogen oxides, or NOx. N Learn more. M These emissions really can affect local air quality, and that is why this is a problem. Su Updated March 27, 2012. Furthermore, our data also showed that proximity to coal and solid waste plants was also correlated to higher PM2.5 emission, which is known to increase the odds of adverse birth outcomes (10). On Florida birth certificates, the gestational age in weeks is typically determined by ultrasound measurements. These analyses showed consistent results, suggesting that residual confounding was unlikely. M More information about the Power Plant Retirements map can be foundhere. Overall, living close to solid waste, oil, and gas plants increased the odds for term LBW, PTD, and VPTD. Hu Reply STOP to cancel. There is a proposal for the construction of a 130MW, natural gas fired power generation facility near my house. AE Maps by energy source and topic, includes forecast maps. 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. Underground Natural Gas Storage by Storage Type, The Basics of Underground Natural Gas Storage, Natural Gas Processing: The Crucial Link Between Natural Gas Production and Its Transportation to Market. First, natural gas power plants do not move they just sit there and emit NOx when they are operating. Peacock Some power plants also This practice, although common, is inherently unsafe. Hu Something ignited the gas that was being used in a scheduled cleaning procedure at the Kleen Energy Plant in Connecticut. Manzanares This practice, although Chen Specifically, for each 5-km decrease in the distance to any power plant, the odds of term LBW, PTD, and VPTD increased by 1.1% (odds ratio (OR) = 1.011, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.002, 1.020), 1.8% (OR = 1.018, 95% CI: 1.013, 1.023), and 2.2% (OR = 1.022, 95% CI: 1.010, 1.034), respectively. They produce toxic and radioactive waste and spew it into the air, poisoning the environment, sickening people, and causing climate change. Oh wait Roth PTD was defined as a birth that occurred before 37 but at or after 32 weeks of gestation. Ive lived closer than a lot of people. I slept just a couple hundred feet from one. I worked dozens of feet from them. My apartment where I spent Reports requested by congress or otherwise deemed important. Forsberg We use cookies to improve your experience. You can filter the plants displayed on the map based on demographics, plant characteristics such as size and fuel type, and quantity of annual plant-level emissions of SO2, NOX, CO2, and PM2.5. During the study period, power plants in the United States emitted an estimated annual average of 2,491,971 metric tons of carbon dioxide, 10,431 metric tons of sulfur dioxide, and 4,212 metric tons of nitric oxides (27). Compared with pregnant women who lived with no power plants within a 20 km radius, women living near 2 power plants had a 7% increased odds of term LBW (OR = 1.07, 95% CI: 1.01, 1.12), 12% increased odds of PTD (OR = 1.12, 95% CI: 1.09, 1.15), and 17% increased odds of VPTD (OR = 1.17, 95% CI: 1.09, 1.25). The first trimester was defined as the first 13 weeks of gestation. 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 When considering whether a property is eligible for an FHA-insured loan, HUD requires that "a site be rejected if the property being appraised is subject to hazards, environmental contaminants, noxious odors, offensive sights or excessive noises to the point of endangering the physical improvements or affecting the livability of the property, its marketability or the health and safety of its occupants." Sign up or text "SCIENCE" to 67369. Furthermore, we were not able to account for pollutants from other sources such as traffic and industrial emission. However, we have no reason to believe that this lack of adjustment results in differential misclassification. Abbreviations: LBW, low birth weight; PTD, preterm delivery; SD, standard deviation; VPTD, very preterm delivery. Maps, tools, and resources related to energy disruptions and infrastructure. All rights reserved. As paradoxical as it may sound, California may continue to achieve its global warming emissions reduction goals and increase air pollution from natural gas power plants at the same time. 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. Moshammer 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. Distance from the nearest power plants was measured in kilometers. Out of all the different risks investigated thus far, an increase in natural gas price from $6/GJ to $9/GJ causes the biggest increase in the average electricity price required. In Briefly, this model uses hierarchical Bayesian methods to combine data from observed air quality data measured at air monitors, the National Emission Inventory, and meteorological and photochemical data to produce 12 12 km gridded estimates of daily average PM2.5 concentrations. (* edit). Do you need one? 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. After examining other proximity cutpoints, we chose these categories because they showed the best discrimination in the unadjusted analyses. A detailed description of this method was reported elsewhere (23). To describe exposures to PM2.5 during pregnancy and throughout the study period according to nearest power plants, we used scatterplots with locally weighted scatterplot smoothing (LOESS) functions (smooth = 0.5) to display averaged daily concentrations during the first trimester (y-axis) by date of delivery (x-axis), as well as daily concentrations (y-axis) by date during the study period (x-axis). We also used Census 2000 data to determine census block group income as a proxy for neighborhood socioeconomic status and urbanity. For each demographic, the percentages of these communities within three miles of a power plant greater than and less than the national averages are displayed. Official websites use .gov 2023 ZDNET, A Red Ventures company. EPA is committed to Environmental Justice (EJ) - the fair treatment and meaningful involvement of all people. 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