The trend continued over the next three years, with 33 fewer average yearly hospitalizations for heart disease from 2016 through 2018 compared to the three years preceding the plant closure. Arsenic in particulate matter, another toxic byproduct emitted from the plant, fell by 66% at the monitors near the plant. A lethal air pollution combination Neville Island’s Shenango Coke Works Plant in operation before the plant’s 2016 closing. “Coal-related particulate matter is more toxic than other types of particulate matter pollution,” Wuyue Yu, the new study’s lead author and a doctoral science student at NYU, told EHN. “Absorbing these particles in our bodies creates oxidative stress, which is linked to all kinds of health problems.”

Source: New York Times August 04, 2023 16:52 UTC