A new study found particulate matter from coal-burning power plants correlated with 460,000 premature deaths between 1999 and 2016. It found fine particulate matter from coal increased deaths twice as much as from other sources of tiny particulate matter (PM2.5) such as forest fires.
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One of the ten largest coal-burning power plants studied was DTE Energy’s biggest coal-fired power plant.
“For the Monroe facility, you can really see the number of deaths from the facility drop off with each scrubber installation,” said Lucas Henneman, an assistant professor at George Mason University and the lead author of the study.
He said his estimates still show the plant contributed to more than 6,000 premature deaths during the period studied.
“Hovering between 300 and 600 deaths per year up to 2009. And then after 2014, it’s down in the single digits per year.”
DTE said without seeing the study, the company couldn’t comment on its accuracy or claims. The company noted it has invested heavily to reduce emissions over the past 20 years, spending $2 billion to install state-of-the-art systems. “These systems are designed to help our coal plants operate in a more sustainable and efficient manner until they are retired and replaced with lower emissions generation,” an emailed statement said.
The research from George Mason University, Harvard, and the University of Texas-Austin was published in the journal Science.
