Around 29,000 deaths expected in Thar due to air pollution from coal mines, power plants

KARACHI: Coal mines and power plants will be no savior for the people of Thar as the neglected region of Sindh embraces for further blights as emissions from a massive cluster of coal mines and power plants would expose local population to serious health risks eventually killing 29000 people, reveals a study launched on Friday. 

These emissions could cause 40,000 asthma emergency room visits, 19,906 new cases of asthma in children, 32,000 preterm births, 20 million days of work absence (sick leave), 57,000 years lived with disability related to chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, diabetes and stroke and 29,000 air pollution-related deaths over the 30 year operating period of power projects, the study states.

The study titled as ‘Air quality, health and toxics impacts of the proposed coal mining and power cluster in Thar, Pakistan’ has been conducted by Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA).

“Since Pakistan is already suffering from air pollution levels that are among the highest in the world, the emissions induced by coal mines and power plants of Thar will further reduce life expectancy in the country and increase the vulnerability of its citizens to the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Lauri Myllyvirta, Lead Analyst of CREA, while speaking at an online launching ceremony of the study organized by Alliance for Climate Justice and Clean Energy (ACJCE).

The Thar emissions would constitute one of the largest hotspots of mercury and carbon dioxide in South Asia, he said. The coal power plants would emit an estimated 1,400 kg of mercury per year, of which one fifth would be deposited into land ecosystems in the region.

Most of the deposition would take place onto cropland and increase the mercury concentrations in crops, said the lead analyst while terming the levels of mercury deposition as potentially dangerous in an area with 100,000 inhabitants.

The study also points out errors and omissions in the data used in Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) reports of two coal power projects in Block-II and one in Block-VI as well as violations of Sindh Ambient Air Quality Standards and guidelines of World Health Organization (WHO) and IFC.

“Given the actual incidences of legal non-compliance and misreporting involved in social and environmental impact assessments, land surveys, land acquisition and compensation and the monitoring processes adopted for development of Thar coal mines and power plants, what the study reveals is just a proverbial iceberg of misleading public through data maneuvering,” said Advocate Zubair Ahmad Abro of Alternative Law Collective, who has been fighting a legal battle for the communities adversely impacted by coal power projects in Thar.

He resolved to continue legal battle for the rights of people suffering from the development of coal mines and power plants in Thar.

Muhammad Ali Shah, Chairman, Pakistan Fisher-folk Form (PFF)  said the local communities of Thar were already suffering from forced displacement, encroachment on common grazing land, livelihood losses, water stress and air pollution induced by coal power project in Thar. To end the sufferings of Thari people, he demanded the government to adopt renewable energy projects and stop mining and import of coal for power generation.

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