14 DAY TRIAL // Dr. Andrew Gray, a US-based expert on air pollution, has recently completed a study concerning how air pollution in China affects the health of people living in this country.
Not to beat about the bush, the researcher found that, in the year 2011 alone, 260,000 premature deaths reported in China were linked to exposure to several air pollutants.
Airborne harmful chemical compounds were also associated with 320,000 and 61,000 cases of asthma documented among children and adults, respectively.
What's more, Dr. Andre Gray discovered that, within said time frame, air pollution in China was to blame for 340,000 hospital visits and 141 million days of sick leave.
According to The Guardian, the air pollution expert maintains that, according to evidence at hand, the chief source of air pollution affecting the health of people living in China is the practice of burning coal for energy.
Thus, Dr. Andre Gray says that, by piecing together several computer simulations, he has managed to “draw a clear map tracing the trail of health damages left by the coal fumes released by every power plant in China, untangling the contribution of individual companies, provinces and power stations to the air pollution crisis gripping the country.”
“This study provides an unprecedentedly detailed picture of the health fallout from China's coal burning,” the researcher adds.
Despite the fact that it is currently dealing with a major air pollution crisis, it appears that China has plans to build another 570 coal-fired power plants across its territory. Some of these facilities are already under construction, the same source details.
Dr. Andrew Gray warns that, once these 570 coal plants go online, another 32,000 premature deaths are likely to be documented in the country on a yearly basis.
The air pollution expert’s study on how burning coal for energy affects the health of people living in China was commissioned by Greenpeace.