Coal Coking Plant Closure Tied to Immediate and Long-Term Respiratory Health Benefits

WEDNESDAY, July 30, 2025 (HealthDay News) — Reductions in fossil fuel-related air pollution are linked to both short- and long-term lung health benefits for nearby residents, according to a study published online July 22 in the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine.

Wuyue Yu, Ph.D., and George D. Thurston, Sc.D., both from New York University in New York City, identified and quantified the immediate and/or longer-term changes in respiratory hospitalizations and emergency department visits among the population residing near the Shenango coking plant near Pittsburgh at the time of its closure (January 2016). The analysis included respiratory hospitalizations and emergency department visit counts by residents living in ZIP codes surrounding the plant, as well as at comparison control sites, three years before and after the shutdown date (2013 through 2018).

The researchers found that the closure of the plant was associated with an immediate 20.5 percent decrease for weekly respiratory emergency department visits and an immediate 41.2 percent decrease in pediatric asthma emergency department visits. Then, there was an additional 4 percent per-month longer-term downward trend. Compared with preclosure, longer-term reductions were also seen for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease hospitalizations.

“The adverse reductions in respiratory health effects were much greater than expected, based on past studies of general air pollution in the United States, indicating that emissions from such fossil fuel-related sources are especially toxic,” Thurston said in a statement.

Both authors disclosed ties to relevant organizations.

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