Potential reductions in fine particulate matter and premature mortality following implementation of air pollution controls on coal-fired power plants in India

Abstract Coal-fired power plants (CFPPs) account for > 70% of electricity generation in India, but < 5% of facilities have installed technologies for sulfur dioxide ($ SO_{2} $) and nitrogen oxide ($ NO_{X} $) removal. Emissions of these pollutants lead to the formation of fine particulate mat...
Ausführliche Beschreibung

Abstract Coal-fired power plants (CFPPs) account for > 70% of electricity generation in India, but < 5% of facilities have installed technologies for sulfur dioxide ($ SO_{2} $) and nitrogen oxide ($ NO_{X} $) removal. Emissions of these pollutants lead to the formation of fine particulate matter ($ PM_{2.5} $) and an increased risk of premature mortality for exposed populations. Here, we use a nested version of the GEOS-Chem global chemical transport model (0.5° × 0.625° resolution) for India to estimate reductions in $ PM_{2.5} $ concentrations that could have been achieved by implementing existing emission control technologies like flue-gas desulfurization (FGD) and/or selective catalytic reduction (SCR). We quantify the associated burden of disease using the integrated exposure response (IER) and global exposure mortality model (GEMM) functions and compare the costs of premature mortality to those for FGD installation. Model simulations for 2010 suggest installation of FGD would have reduced mean annual $ PM_{2.5} $ concentrations across India by 8%, compared to 3% with SCR installation, and 11% with both FGD and SCR. A 7–28% reduction in $ PM_{2.5} $ was simulated for local communities closest to CFPPs (same model grid cell), leading to up to 17% reduction in annual premature mortality. Overall, more than 0.21–0.48 million premature deaths would have been avoided over a 10-year period if FGD had been implemented on all CFPPs, compared to 0.09–0.21 million with SCR and 0.22–0.72 million with both FGD and SCR. Benefits associated with such actions are approximately $18.1–$604 billion USD per year, which is equivalent to ~ 0.44 to 10% of India’s GDP. These results suggest that monetary benefits from avoided premature mortality far outweigh the capital and operational costs of FGD and/or SCR installation of $19.5 billion and/or $32.8 billion per year, respectively. This information is essential because the high costs of installation and operation are often given as reasons for delaying installation and commissioning. We conclude that policy actions to control air pollution from CFPPs are economically justifiable. Ausführliche Beschreibung

Autor*in:	Shende, Pritanjali [verfasserIn] Lu, Zifeng [verfasserIn] Sunderland, Elsie M. [verfasserIn] Qureshi, Asif [verfasserIn]

Format:	E-Artikel
Sprache:	Englisch

Erschienen:	2024

Schlagwörter:	Coal-fired power plants Emissions control Premature mortality Burden of disease

Anmerkung:

© The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature B.V. 2024. Springer Nature or its licensor (e.g. a society or other partner) holds exclusive rights to this article under a publishing agreement with the author(s) or other rightsholder(s); author self-archiving of the accepted manuscript version of this article is solely governed by the terms of such publishing agreement and applicable law.

Übergeordnetes Werk:	Enthalten in: Air quality, atmosphere and health - Springer Netherlands, 2008, 17(2024), 5 vom: 06. Feb., Seite 1061-1075
Übergeordnetes Werk:	volume:17 ; year:2024 ; number:5 ; day:06 ; month:02 ; pages:1061-1075

Links:	Volltext

DOI / URN:	10.1007/s11869-024-01503-8

Katalog-ID:	SPR055879802