The energy-health-environment nexus: assessing the transboundary impacts of coal-fired power plants
Point source emissions from large coal-fired power plants are pivotal in the energy-health-environment nexus, impacting energy security, air quality, and public health outcomes. Despite this, there is a lack of interdisciplinary prospective studies focusing on the effects of power plant emissions on...
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Frontiers Media S.A.
2025-07-01
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| Series: | Frontiers in Public Health |
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| Online Access: | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpubh.2025.1581460/full |
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| author | Raja Dhar Sayantan Sarkar Chen Luo Megha Anand Shyamasree Dasgupta Ujjwal Neogi Apostolos Bossios Rausan Zamir Mohammad Shoeb Joyanto Routh |
| author_facet | Raja Dhar Sayantan Sarkar Chen Luo Megha Anand Shyamasree Dasgupta Ujjwal Neogi Apostolos Bossios Rausan Zamir Mohammad Shoeb Joyanto Routh |
| author_sort | Raja Dhar |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Point source emissions from large coal-fired power plants are pivotal in the energy-health-environment nexus, impacting energy security, air quality, and public health outcomes. Despite this, there is a lack of interdisciplinary prospective studies focusing on the effects of power plant emissions on the population residing downwind. To address this gap, a comprehensive, multicenter, interdisciplinary study on a transboundary scale (India and Bangladesh) has been launched, which includes modeling power plant emissions, seasonal collection of particulate matter and its chemical analysis, socioeconomic surveys of the case (downwind) and control (upwind) populations, lung health assessments, and transcriptomic analyses of blood samples. The outcomes will provide quantitative estimates of power plant impacts on air quality, lung health, and blood markers associated with pulmonary complications. This approach comprehensively assesses the population health impacts of power plant emissions. Moreover, by conducting lung tests in patients on-site, the health team captures an actual snapshot of air pollution. The study establishes causality between power plant emissions, particulate matter characteristics, and population exposure levels while accounting for social, demographic, and economic factors, the study establishes. By integrating diverse techniques, quantitative and qualitative methods, and perspectives, this study aims to enhance scientific understanding of the health and environmental risks and the socioeconomic burden associated with coal-based energy generation in developing countries. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-d562aad88e94438299568dea7530a0fc |
| institution | DOAJ |
| issn | 2296-2565 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-07-01 |
| publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Frontiers in Public Health |
| spelling | doaj-art-d562aad88e94438299568dea7530a0fc2025-08-20T03:09:34ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Public Health2296-25652025-07-011310.3389/fpubh.2025.15814601581460The energy-health-environment nexus: assessing the transboundary impacts of coal-fired power plantsRaja Dhar0Sayantan Sarkar1Chen Luo2Megha Anand3Shyamasree Dasgupta4Ujjwal Neogi5Apostolos Bossios6Rausan Zamir7Mohammad Shoeb8Joyanto Routh9Department of Pulmonology, Calcutta Medical Research Institute, Kolkata, IndiaSchool of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Mandi, Mandi, Himachal Pradesh, IndiaDepartment of Thematic Studies, Linköping University, Linköping, SwedenSchool of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Mandi, Mandi, Himachal Pradesh, IndiaSchool of Humanities and Social Sciences, Indian Institute of Technology Mandi, Mandi, Himachal Pradesh, IndiaDepartment of Laboratory Medicine, Karolinska Institute, Stockholm, SwedenDivision for Lung and Airway Research, Institute of Environmental Medicine, Karolinska Institutet, and Karolinska Severe Asthma Center, Department of Respiratory Medicine and Allergy, Karolinska University Hospital, and Center for Molecular Medicine, Karolinska University Hospital, Stockholm, SwedenDepartment of Chemistry, Rajshahi University, Rajshahi, BangladeshDepartment of Chemistry, University of Dhaka, Dhaka, BangladeshDepartment of Thematic Studies, Linköping University, Linköping, SwedenPoint source emissions from large coal-fired power plants are pivotal in the energy-health-environment nexus, impacting energy security, air quality, and public health outcomes. Despite this, there is a lack of interdisciplinary prospective studies focusing on the effects of power plant emissions on the population residing downwind. To address this gap, a comprehensive, multicenter, interdisciplinary study on a transboundary scale (India and Bangladesh) has been launched, which includes modeling power plant emissions, seasonal collection of particulate matter and its chemical analysis, socioeconomic surveys of the case (downwind) and control (upwind) populations, lung health assessments, and transcriptomic analyses of blood samples. The outcomes will provide quantitative estimates of power plant impacts on air quality, lung health, and blood markers associated with pulmonary complications. This approach comprehensively assesses the population health impacts of power plant emissions. Moreover, by conducting lung tests in patients on-site, the health team captures an actual snapshot of air pollution. The study establishes causality between power plant emissions, particulate matter characteristics, and population exposure levels while accounting for social, demographic, and economic factors, the study establishes. By integrating diverse techniques, quantitative and qualitative methods, and perspectives, this study aims to enhance scientific understanding of the health and environmental risks and the socioeconomic burden associated with coal-based energy generation in developing countries.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpubh.2025.1581460/fullcoalpower plant emissionstransboundary pollutionlung healthsocioeconomic status |
| spellingShingle | Raja Dhar Sayantan Sarkar Chen Luo Megha Anand Shyamasree Dasgupta Ujjwal Neogi Apostolos Bossios Rausan Zamir Mohammad Shoeb Joyanto Routh The energy-health-environment nexus: assessing the transboundary impacts of coal-fired power plants Frontiers in Public Health coal power plant emissions transboundary pollution lung health socioeconomic status |
| title | The energy-health-environment nexus: assessing the transboundary impacts of coal-fired power plants |
| title_full | The energy-health-environment nexus: assessing the transboundary impacts of coal-fired power plants |
| title_fullStr | The energy-health-environment nexus: assessing the transboundary impacts of coal-fired power plants |
| title_full_unstemmed | The energy-health-environment nexus: assessing the transboundary impacts of coal-fired power plants |
| title_short | The energy-health-environment nexus: assessing the transboundary impacts of coal-fired power plants |
| title_sort | energy health environment nexus assessing the transboundary impacts of coal fired power plants |
| topic | coal power plant emissions transboundary pollution lung health socioeconomic status |
| url | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpubh.2025.1581460/full |
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