Coal-fired power plants could cause 30,000 deaths in three decades: research

Coal-based power plants being constructed in Cox's Bazar could be responsible for 30,000 deaths over 30 years. The plants will be releasing hazardous elements, emitting pollutants 800 percent higher than the international average. 

The figures come from a paper of Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA) on "Detrimental impact on health, air-quality and environment caused by coal-based power plants in Cox's Bazar and Chattogram", presented at a webinar hosted by Bangladesh Poribesh Andolon (Bapa) yesterday.

Lauri Myllyvirta, lead analyst of CREA, presented the research paper, portraying the grave environmental disaster awaiting the country's south-east coastal region.

Lauri said emission levels adopted for Matarbari project in Cox's Bazar allows up to 25 times the legal pollution limit in China, India and the European Union.

For Matarbari, the total emission from all power plants would be 820 micrograms per metre cube, while the permitted level is 100 in India, 75 in European Union, and just 35 in China, he said.

Saying that the project aims to build the world's largest cluster of coal-plants, Lauri said lack of proper monitoring and supervision of environmental regulations would cause 30,000 deaths over 30 years in Cox's Bazar, due to heavy air pollution.

Lauri's research found that the plants under Matarbari would release an estimated total of 1,600 kilogrammes of mercury per year into the air, of which one-third would be deposited into the land and fresh water ecosystems in Bangladesh.

The pollution would trigger 17 million days of sick leaves across the south-eastern region. Around 41,000 adults and 30,000 children would get asthma. Another 47,000 would live with disabilities caused by chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, the research finds.

Discussant urged the government to look for alternative power sources, as it is not a mammoth task in the 21st century.  

Prof Md Khalequzzaman of Lock Haven University, USA, said, Bangladesh is a victim of climate change and has been advocating for prompt action internationally. If the country itself moves towards coal-based power plants, it would lose its moral and ethical grounds, and legitimacy to fight for the cause.

All coal-based power plants in Cox's Bazar and Chattogram would produce a total 10,000 megawatts of electricity.

Sharif Jamil, general secretary of Bapa, moderated the webinar, chaired by Rasheda K Chuodhury, former advisor of the caretaker government.

Eminent river researcher Prof Manzoorul Kibria, Dr Rashid-E-Mahbub, founder of Doctor's Platform for People's Health, Dr Abdul Matin and Fazlul Quader Chowdhury, president of Bapa, Cox's Bazar unit, had joined the event.