A Systematic Review of Coal Fired Power Plant Proximity and Local Socioeconomic Status Trends and Outcomes

Among the significant sources of energy, coal based energy bears the largest share (42%) of the electricity produced in the United States. Already existing coal fired power plants are the largest emitter of carbon dioxide emissions in the United States. Among the cumulative emissions contributed by the industrial sector, significant portions are from coal fired power plants. Coal-fired power plants emit 66% of sulfur oxides, 40% of carbon dioxide, 33% of mercury and 22% of nitrogen oxides in the U.S. and are linked as risk factors to respiratory diseases, cardiovascular diseases and other ailments shown to impact environmental and human health. Along with the pervasive and injurious health effects that come with the presence of hazardous waste sites (i.e, toxic waste sites, landfills, congested highways), there are broader socioeconomic trends and outcomes related to their siting, especially affecting those who live near these facilities. This literature review research study surveyed the relationship between the location of coal fired power plants and the socioeconomic conditions and trends of proximate communities and the cumulative evidence suggested there to be direct link. The four studies used recent U.S. Census data to examine housing values and rents in relation to the location of coal fired power plants during the 1990s and found that there were statistically significant decreases in mean household income, decreases in housing values and proportion declines in educational attainment (declines in high school and college completion rates), and increases in the populations of black and hispanic residents