AUSTIN, Texas — The number shocked even some researchers: Nearly half a million premature deaths among people 65 and older were caused by the negative health effects of living near or downwind from coal-fired power plants.
It’s been known for some time that small particles in the air from coal power generation can have an impact on health. But what surprised the researchers was just how devastating the pollution has been. The study revealed that 460,000 Americans died prematurely from the pollution from coal-fired power plants over the past two decades.
Researchers from the University of Texas at Austin were among the academics who studied the data.
If there’s any silver lining in the report, UT researcher Professor Cory Zigler said it’s that the number of deaths has been steadily dropping.
“Coal power plants were this major burden that U.S. policies have already significantly reduced,” said Zigler, an associate professor in UT’s Department of Statistics and Data Sciences and founding member of the UT Center for Health & Environment: Education and Research. “But we haven’t eliminated the burden. So, this study provides us a better understanding of how health will continue to improve, and lives will be saved if we move further toward a clean energy future.”
Among the 480 coal-powered power plants researchers studied was the Fayette Power Project near La Grange, about 80 miles southeast of Austin.
According to Zigler, the data show there were 560 premature deaths in Texas that were directly attributed to pollution from the Fayette Power Project in 2003.
By 2019, the numbers had dropped to fewer than 90 deaths, a reduction caused by the installation of devices to reduce pollution, according to Zigler.
The Fayette project is co-owned by Austin Energy and the Lower Colorado River Authority. The Austin City Council has supported getting out of the project, and despite a promise to do so, Austin Energy still has not cut ties with the LCRA at the Fayette power plant.