Health Care Without Harm stood alongside nearly 200 advocates for health and the environment in testifying before the EPA in support of the Clean Power Plan at a hearing in Kansas City, United States, this week. In her testimony Lindsey Corey, Health Care Without Harm communications manager, explained the adverse health effects of repealing the plan and allowing pollution from coal-fired power plants to continue unabated.
“The burning of coal releases a number of highly toxic air pollutants, which have been shown to cause respiratory illnesses, cardiovascular disease, neurological damage, and premature death. The annual deaths associated with fine particulate matter alone have been estimated to be as high as 52,000 — more than all the lives lost in car accidents each year,” Corey told the EPA.
She also pointed to the tremendous benefits to health and the environment that would come with fully implementing the Clean Power Plan without any further delay, remarking that a recent analysis by the Trump Administration predicted that the plan would prevent an estimated 4,500 premature deaths each year.
Many health professionals also testified in support of the Clean Power Plan, including nurses from the Alliance of Nurses for Healthy Environments.
