Researchers at New York University have published 2 studies in the last two years, which show HUGE health improvements after a very polluting coal-coking plant near Pittsburgh closed. Coal-coking plants heat coal for use in steel mills, and they make a lot of pollution.
In the most recent study published online in July, the researchers found an immediate reduction in respiratory emergency room visits as soon as the coal-coking plant closed. This included a 41% (!!) reduction in children’s asthma emergency visits, and a 20% overall drop in respiratory emergency visits. Children’s asthma emergency visits kept going down about 4% a month for months, and adult hospitalizations for COPD went down too.
In a study published 2 years ago, the same researchers found an immediate drop of 42% for heart-related ER visits after the coal-coking plant closed, and heart-related emergency visits kept going down weekly after the immediate decrease. Heart-related hospitalizations also went down by 28% after the coal-coking plant closed.
This is really good news about what happens when polluting fossil fuel facilities close – 40% decrease in children with asthma attacks and for adults with heart emergencies, and a 28% decrease in heart-related hospitalizations. That is really huge!
These studies show the health benefits of clean air standards, and why we need EPA to protect our health.
For more information about coal-coking plants, see this website from The National Cancer Institute.
Read the 2025 news release from the American Thoracic Society here.
Read the 2025 scientific study here.
Read the 2023 summary from the American Heart Association here.
Read the 2023 scientific study here.
The EPA has proposed to delay new standards for coal-coking plants by 2 years, meaning 2 more years of children with asthma attacks and adults with heart and lung disease. You can submit a comment here.
AKMB 08/08/2025
