57 Percent Drop in Asthma Hospitalizations in Nearby Neighborhoods Following Installation of Pollution Control Systems at Coal Plants
Baltimore, Md. – A new report documents stark difference in asthma hospitalization rates in rich versus poor neighborhoods in Baltimore, and reveals a dramatic drop in the far southern part of the city after a pair of nearby coal-fired power plants installed air pollution control devices in 2009.
Asthma hospitalization rates in the zip codes for the Cherry Hill, Brooklyn, and Curtis Bay neighborhoods fell 57 percent between 2009 and 2013 – more than twice the drop citywide – after a state law compelled the nearby Brandon Shores and Wagner power plants to install major new pollution control systems, according to the Environmental Integrity Project’s report, “Asthma and Air Pollution in Baltimore City.”
The power plants released 93 percent less soot (which can trigger asthma and heart attacks), 29 percent less nitrogen oxides (which contribute to smog), and 73 percent less sulfur dioxide each year following the improvements. Across the city during these years (the most recent for which data are publicly available), asthma hospitalization rates fell by an average of 23 percent, with reductions in air pollution and changes in hospital and insurance policies likely contributing to this drop.
“This encouraging decline in asthma hospitalizations shows that – although asthma is a very complex and difficult problem – we don’t have to throw up our hands and say that there’s nothing we can do,” said Leah Kelly, an attorney for the Environmental Integrity Project (EIP) and one of the authors of the report. “One step we should take is to require, for the good of public health, that all major air pollution sources – such as incinerators, power plants, and vehicles – have state of the art pollution control systems.”
EIP’s report was funded by the Abell Foundation and based on newly released data from the Maryland Department of Health. The data shows that Baltimore City has by far the highest rate of acute asthma events in the State of Maryland – with rates of asthma hospitalizations that are more than twice the average for Maryland and almost three times the national average.
In addition, Baltimore’s lowest-income zip codes, including in East and West Baltimore, have the highest asthma hospitalization rates, while the wealthiest zip codes, in Roland Park and Mount Washington, have the lowest.
Asthma hospitalization rates are impacted by a multitude of factors, including health insurance and the availability of asthma inhalers; poor housing conditions, including mold, mice, and cockroaches; emotional stress; and indoor and outdoor air pollution, all of which can trigger asthma attacks.
The data reviewed by EIP suggest that the cleaning up of major sources of pollution from 2009 to 2013 may have contributed to the decline in asthma hospitalizations.
This was especially true in the far southern zip codes of the city, 21225 and 21226 (Brooklyn/Curtis Bay/Cherry Hill). Emissions from nearby power plants fell especially sharply during this time period. The reductions were driven in part by a 2006 state law, the Maryland Healthy Air Act, which required the installation of air pollution control technology and upgrades to existing pollution controls at large coal-fired power plants across the state, including the Brandon Shores and Herbert A. Wagner coal plants at the Fort Smallwood complex in northern Anne Arundel County.
Between 2009 and 2013, the two coal plants released 622 tons less soot (also known as particulate matter), 1,521 fewer tons of nitrogen oxides, and 34,911 tons annually less sulfur dioxide.
According to state Health Department data, asthma hospitalization rates in communities adjacent to these coal-fired power plants decreased significantly. In the 21225 zip code of the city (Brooklyn and Cherry Hill), age-adjusted asthma hospitalization rates fell from 92 per 10,000 people in 2009 to 40 per 10,000 people in 2013. In the 21226 zip code, Curtis Bay, the rates dropped from 61 per 10,000 people in 2009 to 26 per 10,000 people in 2013.
“Although asthma rates in Baltimore are still far too high, this substantial decline is encouraging, because it suggests that when money is invested in pollution control systems, communities really benefit,” said Kira Burkhart, Senior Research Analyst at the Environmental Integrity Project and co-author of the report. “When residents are better protected from air pollution, children miss less school because of asthma attacks and adults miss less work from illness.”
Air pollution from trucks and cars also has an impact, with four out of the five Baltimore zip codes with the highest 2011 asthma hospitalization rates including areas with very high relative exposure to toxic air pollution (95-100th percentile in the state), coming primarily from roadway vehicles.
The report makes recommendations, including:
- Maryland should require all major sources of air pollution in the Baltimore region, including the BRESCO trash incinerator in south Baltimore, to install state of the art pollution control equipment.
- To reduce vehicle emissions and boost economic development and local incomes, Maryland should improve public transit and reconsider building the proposed Red Line light rail in Baltimore, which the Hogan administration canceled.
- Officials and local universities should help Baltimore residents obtain more community specific air quality data using portable monitors, and make more even detailed asthma data available to the public.
The Abell Foundation, established in 1953, is the largest philanthropic nonprofit serving only Maryland, and works to enhance the quality of life of people in Baltimore City. The Foundation places a strong emphasis on opening the doors of opportunity to the disenfranchised, believing that no community can thrive if those who live on the margins of it are not included.
The Environmental Integrity Project is a 15-year-old nonprofit, nonpartisan organization, based in Washington D.C., that is dedicated to enforcing environmental laws and holding polluters and governments accountable to protect public health.
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Media contact: Tom Pelton, Environmental Integrity Project (443) 510-2574
