You know that's WATER VAPOR dont you?
Actually;
Air pollution from coal-fired power plants - SourceWatch
Coal combustion releases
nitrogen oxides,
sulfur dioxide,
particulate matter (PM),
mercury, and dozens of other substances known to be hazardous to human health.
[1]
Aging coal plants "grandfathered" in after passage of the
Clean Air Act have been particularly linked to large quantities of harmful emissions.
[4][5]
Such emissions include:
Nitrogen oxides (NOx). The release of oxides of nitrogen (nitrogen oxides and nitrogen dioxides [NO2]) reacts with volatile organic compounds in the presence of sunlight to produce ground-level ozone, the primary ingredient in smog. Nitrogen oxide also contributes to fine
particulate matter, or
soot. Both smog and soot are linked to a host of serious health effects. Nitrogen oxide also harms the environment, contributing to acidification of lakes and streams (
acid rain).
[6]
Sulfur dioxide (SO2). Sulfur dioxide contributes to the formation of microscopic particles (particulate pollution or
soot) that can be inhaled deep into the lungs and aggravate respiratory conditions such as asthma and chronic bronchitis, increasing cough and mucous secretion.
[6]
Mercury (HG). Coal contains trace amounts of mercury that, when burned, enter the environment and human bodies, effecting intellectual development.
[6]
Particulate matter (PM), also known as
particle pollution, includes the tiny particles of
fly ash and dust that are expelled from coal-burning power plants. Fine particles are a mixture of a variety of different compounds and pollutants that originate primarily from combustion sources such as power plants, but also diesel trucks and buses, cars, etc. Fine particles are either emitted directly from these combustion sources or are formed in the atmosphere through complex oxidation reactions involving gases, such as
sulfur dioxide (SO2) or nitrogen oxides (NOX). Among particles, fine particles are of particular concern because they are so tiny that they can be inhaled deeply, thus evading the human lungs' natural defenses.
[7]
Smog is the chemical reaction of sunlight,
nitrogen oxides (NOx), and
volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in the atmosphere, which leaves airborne particles (
particulate matter) and ground-level
ozone (smog). Ground level ozone is an invisible gas made of three oxygen atoms (O3).
[8]
Black carbon, also called
soot, arises from sources such as diesel engine exhaust, burning biomass, cooking fires, and coal plants. It is made up of tiny carbon
particulate matter that contributes to
global warming by absorbing heat in the atmosphere and reducing albedo, the reflection of sunlight, when deposited on snow and ice. It is also a big component of
[9]
Carbon dioxide (CO2) is the most significant
greenhouse gas that contributes to
global warming. The dangers of global warming include disruption of global weather patterns and ecosystems, flooding, severe storms, and droughts. A warming climate will also extend the range of infectious diseases. Coal combustion is responsible for more than 30% of total U.S. carbon dioxide pollution.
[6]
A 2009 study,
“Enhancement of Local Air Pollution by Urban CO2 Domes,” published in Environmental Science & Technology by Mark Z. Jacobson, found that domes of increased
carbon dioxide concentrations – discovered to form above cities more than a decade ago – cause local temperature increases that in turn increase the amounts of local air pollutants, raising concentrations of health-damaging ground-level
ozone as well as
particulate matter in urban air.
According to Jacobson: "Warming increases water vapor, and both water vapor and higher temperatures increase ozone where the ozone is already high but have less effect where the ozone is low. Carbon dioxide domes over cities increase temperatures over the cities above and beyond the heat island effect, and these higher temperatures increase water vapor, and both higher water vapor and higher temperatures increase the rates of chemical air pollution production over cities relative to rural areas. The results suggest a causal nature of increased air pollution mortality due to increased carbon dioxide where the air pollution is already high. Thus, controlling CO2 emissions at the local level will reduce air pollution and the resulting air pollution mortality."
Jacobson’s estimates that “reducing local CO2 may reduce 300-1000 premature air pollution mortalities/yr in the U.S. and 50-100/yr in California, even if CO2 in adjacent regions is not controlled.”
