Closure Of Chinese Coal Plant Led To Improved Health Of Local Children

Children born after a coal plant was shut down in central China had 60 percent fewer developmental problems than children born while the plant was still in operation, according to a new study. The research, published in the journal Environmental Health Perspectives, studied levels of pollutants and mental and physical development in two groups of children — 100 born before the plant’s closure in 2004 and 100 born after. The results showed that the children born after the plant was shuttered had 40 percent fewer contaminants in their umbilical-cord blood and nearly two-thirds fewer developmental problems, such as poor muscle coordination, by age two. The plant had no pollution control equipment and spewed out high levels of carbon dioxide, sulfur dioxide, and other chemicals and particulate matter; newer Chinese coal-fired plants do have some pollution controls.