<
https://insideclimatenews.org/news/13082023/when-a-steel-plant-closed-in-pittsburgh-cardiovascular-er-visits-plunged/>
"A week after one of Pittsburgh’s most polluting plants closed in 2016,
cardiovascular ER visits in the nearby communities dropped by 42 percent and
continued to shrink every week for years, according to a recent study published
in the journal
Environmental Research Health. Cardiovascular and
cerebrovascular hospitalizations also decreased.
While most research on air pollution makes associations between certain
pollutants and health effects, there is little research on the specific health
benefits of particular plants closing. But the New York University study
attempts to do just that.
“It’s exciting to see something like this, especially as we are undergoing a
huge energy transition in this country and in the world,” said Joan Casey, an
environmental epidemiologist at the University of Washington who did not
participate in the study. “How we characterize these co-benefits of the energy
transition and how we calculate the huge potential health benefits is really
important.”
Researchers from NYU Langone Health looked at the closure of Shenango Inc., a
coke plant in Pittsburgh, to assess the health benefits for nearby residents. A
typical epidemiological study looks at two data sets—air pollution and health
data—and then uses statistical methods to show the connection, said Lucas
Henneman, an environmental engineer and assistant professor at George Mason
University in Virginia whose research focuses on pollution and health and was
not involved with the study. “But what makes this stand out is that they are
looking at this very specific intervention.”
Researchers compared the area exposed to the plant’s pollution, an area exposed
to pollution from another plant and a third area without any exposure. Then
they analyzed five years of air pollution and healthcare data. By looking at
these three populations, they could control for other factors that could
explain the drop in ER visits and hospitalizations, said George Thurston, the
director of the Program in Exposure Assessment and Human Health Effects at NYU
and one of the authors of the study.
Researchers found the mean ambient sulfur dioxide levels dropped 90 percent in
the studied area after the plant closed. Sulfur dioxide is a gaseous air
pollutant that reduces the lung’s ability to function, causes respiratory
symptoms and has also been linked to heart disease."
Via Diane A.
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
