New study links air pollution with higher rates of head and neck cancer

Wayne State University - Office of the Vice President for Research

DETROIT — A recent study published in the journal Scientific Reports correlates higher levels of pollutant particulate matter to higher occurrences of head and neck aerodigestive cancer.

The article, "Air Pollution Exposure and Head and Neck Cancer Incidence," is the work of a multi-institutional collaboration with researchers from Wayne State University, Johns Hopkins University and Mass General Brigham.

The study was led by John Cramer, Ph.D., associate professor of otolaryngology, and John Peleman, M.D., medical resident in the Department of Otolaryngology, in the Wayne State University School of Medicine. They collaborated with Mass General Brigham, an integrated academic health care system.

“There has been previous research on air pollution, but the effects mostly were connected to cancers within the lower respiratory system,” said Cramer. “Head and neck cancer is a harder link to show, and it has a much lower occurrence than lung cancers, but since they also occur as a result of smoking, similar to lung cancers, we wanted to explore any connections. Presumably, the link to head and neck cancer comes from what we breathe to that material affecting the lining in the head and neck. We see a lot of occurrences of where carcinogens touch or pool in the body to where cancers can occur.”

“While there has been substantial research investigating the effects of air pollutants on lung disease, few studies have focused on air pollution exposure as a risk factor for the upper airway, including the development of head and neck cancer,” said senior author Stella Lee, M.D., of the Center for Surgery and Public Health and Division of Otolaryngology-Head & Neck Surgery at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, a founding member of the Mass General Brigham health care system. “These findings shed light on the significant role of environmental pollution in cancers of the upper aerodigestive tract, highlighting the need for further awareness, research and mitigation efforts.”

Their research used data from the U.S. Surveillance Epidemiology and End Results (SEER) national cancer database from the years 2002-12. Cramer observed the highest association between this type of pollution exposure with head and neck cancer after a five-year lag period. They focused on PM2.5, which is particulate matter measuring less than 2.5 microns, and its effect on head and neck aerodigestive cancer incidence.

“We are looking at a certain size of air pollution particulates,” said Cramer. “The size of the particles is relevant because the classic model for studying the upper airways is that the nose and throat act as filters before it gets into the lungs. Larger particles are being filtered out, but we are conceptualizing that different types of pollution hit different parts of the airways.”

Cramer hopes to expand their research by taking other data sets into account. He hopes that by showing this research to the public, it could help guide policy as well as aid treatment in the future.

“Environmental health and personal health are inextricably linked,” said co-author Amanda Dilger, M.D. of CSPH and Massachusetts Eye and Ear, a member of the Mass General Brigham health care system. “Our study highlights the need to improve air quality standards in order to decrease the risk of developing cancer, including head and neck cancer.”

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About Wayne State University

Wayne State University is one of the nation’s pre-eminent public research universities in an urban setting. Through its multidisciplinary approach to research and education, and its ongoing collaboration with government, industry and other institutions, the university seeks to enhance economic growth and improve the quality of life in the city of Detroit, state of Michigan and throughout the world. For more information about research at Wayne State University, visit research.wayne.edu.

Wayne State University’s research efforts are dedicated to a prosperity agenda that betters the lives of our students, supports our faculty in pushing the boundaries of knowledge and innovation further, and strengthens the bonds that interconnect Wayne State and our community. To learn more about Wayne State University’s prosperity agenda, visit president.wayne.edu/prosperity-agenda.

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Journal

Scientific Reports

DOI

10.1038/s41598-024-73756-3 

Method of Research

Data/statistical analysis

Subject of Research

People

Article Title

Air pollution exposure and head and neck cancer incidence

Article Publication Date

12-Nov-2024

Toxic smog in Pakistan is so bad you can see it from space
 
By Helen Regan and Sophia Saifi, 

CNN
 Mon November 11, 2024

A cyclist rides along a street engulfed in thick smog, in Lahore on November 10, 2024. Arif Ali/AFP/Getty Images
CNN —

Record-breaking levels of thick, toxic smog that have shrouded eastern Pakistan and northern India since last month can be seen in striking satellite imagery.

A huge cloud of gray smog blankets Pakistan’s Punjab province and stretches out east into India, over the capital New Delhi and beyond, satellite imagery from NASA Worldview shows.

The pollution has forced authorities in Pakistan to close schools and public spaces as the acrid smog threatens the health of tens of millions of people.

Images from the Pakistani cities of Lahore and Multan this weekend show the dark haze engulfing streets and blocking buildings from view.

Pollution in the region ramps up each winter, when an ominous yellow haze blankets the skies due to a combination of farmers burning agricultural waste, coal-fired power plants, traffic and windless days. Air quality worsens in the winter because colder and drier air traps pollution, rather than lifting it away, as warm air does when it rises.

Satellite imagery from NASA Worldview shows heavy smog over Pakistan’s Punjab province and parts of northwest India on November 10, 2024, compared to the same region on August 31, 2024. NASA Worldview/CNN

Though major South Asian cities suffer with poisonous smog each year, officials in Pakistan’s second biggest city Lahore have characterized this season as unprecedented.

On Monday, the city’s air quality index was above 1,200, a level considered “hazardous,” according to IQAir, which tracks global air quality. A reading above 300 is considered hazardous to a person’s health.

The air quality index in parts of Punjab, Pakistan’s most populous province of 127 million people, has exceeded 1,000 multiple times in the past week, according to IQAir.

In the Punjab city of Multan on Monday, the reading for the tiniest and most dangerous pollutant, PM2.5, was more than 110 times higher than safe levels set by the World Health Organization.

When inhaled, PM2.5 travels deep into lung tissue where it can enter the bloodstream. It comes from sources like the combustion of fossil fuels, dust storms and wildfires, and has been linked to asthma, heart and lung disease, cancer, and other respiratory illnesses, as well as cognitive impairment in children.

Hospitals and clinics in Pakistan have become inundated with patients suffering from the effects of pollution, with Punjab health officials saying more than 30,000 people have been treated for respiratory ailments in smog-hit districts, according to the Associated Press.

A vendor carries a basket of radishes across a railway track engulfed in smog in Lahore on November 8, 2024. Arif Ali/AFP/Getty Images

Patients are treated at a hospital due to poor air quality in Lahore, Pakistan, on November 8, 2024 Arif Ali/AFP/Getty Images

Traders and customers at a wholesale fruit market engulfed in smog in Lahore on November 8, 2024. Arif Ali/AFP/Getty Images

Pakistan’s Environmental Protection Agency said Sunday there was “an unprecedented rise in the number of patients with lung and respiratory diseases, allergies, eye and throat irritation” in the districts of Faisalabad, Multan and Gujranwala, where average air quality levels were “alarmingly hazardous.”

Schools and government offices had already been ordered to close until November 17, including in the provincial capital Lahore. On Friday, Punjab authorities shuttered all parks, playgrounds, museums, zoos and historical sites in 18 districts for 10 days.

New restrictions on Monday extended the ban to all outdoor activities including outdoor sports events, exhibitions, festivals, and outdoor dining at restaurants, in four districts including Lahore. Markets, shops and malls are to close by 8 p.m. local time, with exceptions for pharmacies, gas stations and essential food and medical stores, according to the EPA.

The fresh restrictions are designed to keep people at home and avoid unnecessary travel that could put their health at risk, Sajid Bashir, EPA spokesperson told AP.

Of particular concern are children who are among the most vulnerable because their bodies, organs and immune systems are still not fully developed.

The UN children’s agency, UNICEF, warned that more than 11 million children under the age of 5 are exposed to smog in the worst-affected districts.

“As smog continues to persist in Punjab province, I am extremely concerned about the well-being of young children who are forced to breathe polluted, toxic air,” UNICEF’s representative in Pakistan Abdullah Fadil said. “Young children are most affected by air pollution because they have smaller lungs and lack the immunities that come with age.”

Khuram Gondal, Save the Children Pakistan’s country director said as well as disrupting their education, “air pollution and hotter temperatures are leading to life-threatening dangers for children, including difficulty breathing and higher risk of infectious diseases.”

‘We have no other option.’ Women take dip in holy river filled with toxic foam

He urged the government to “urgently address air pollution” and find long-term solutions to the annual problem.

Last week, officials in Punjab drafted a letter to the Indian government to open a dialogue on the issue.

Punjabi Secretary for Environment and Climate Change Raja Jahangir Anwar told CNN there was a need for “climate diplomacy, as a regional and global issue.”

Millions of people die each year from air pollution-related health issues. Air pollution from fossil fuels is killing 5.1 million people worldwide every year, according to a study published in the BMJ in November, 2023. Meanwhile, WHO says 6.7 million people die annually from the combined effects of ambient and household air pollution.

The climate crisis will only make pollution worse as extreme heat becomes more severe and frequent, scientists say. Climate change is altering weather patterns, leading to changes in wind and rainfall, which also affect the dispersion of pollutants.

A report published earlier this year found that the world consumed record amounts of oil, coal and gas last year, pushing planet-heating carbon pollution to a new high.

UN warns that toxic smog in Pakistan’s Punjab province is endangering children

A commuter train moves with headlights as smog envelops the area of Lahore, Pakistan, Monday, Nov. 11, 2024. (AP Photo/K.M. Chaudary)

By The Associated Press

Posted Nov 11, 2024 

ISLAMABAD (AP) — The U.N. children’s agency on Monday warned that the health of 11 million children in Pakistan’s eastern Punjab province is in danger because of air pollution that experts say has become a fifth season in recent years.

Toxic smog has shrouded Pakistan’s cultural capital of Lahore and 17 other districts in Punjab since last month. Health officials say more than 40,000 people have been treated for respiratory ailments.

UNICEF’s representative in Pakistan, Abdullah Fadil, in a statement urged the government to make urgent and greater efforts to reduce air pollution for the 11 million affected children under the age of 5 and others.

“Prior to these record-breaking levels of air pollution, about 12% of deaths in children under 5 in Pakistan were due to air pollution,” Fadil said. “The impact of this year’s extraordinary smog will take time to assess, but we know that doubling and tripling the amount of pollution in the air will have devastating effects, particularly on children and pregnant women.”

Pakistan has shut schools until Nov. 17 in parts of Punjab as part of measures aimed at protecting children’s health. Authorities on Friday ordered the closure of all parks and museums for 10 days, and they have been urging people to avoid unnecessary travel.

According to the Environmental Protection Department in Punjab, Multan remained the most polluted city on Monday, with air quality index readings of about 800. Anything over 300 is considered hazardous to health.

Though the government has ordered the mandatory wearing of face masks, that has been widely disregarded. The government has also said it was looking into methods to induce artificial rainfall to combat the pollution.

The Associated Press

Biden announces $3B to reduce carbon emissions at US ports, 'the linchpin to America’s supply chain'

MATTHEW DALY
Updated Tue, October 29, 2024

President Joe Biden speaks during an event about his Investing in America agenda, Tuesday, Oct. 29, 2024, at the Dundalk Marine Terminal in Baltimore. (AP Photo/Daniel Kucin Jr.)ASSOCIATED PRESS

President Joe Biden speaks during an event about his Investing in America agenda, Tuesday, Oct. 29, 2024, at the Dundalk Marine Terminal in Baltimore. (AP Photo/Daniel Kucin Jr.)ASSOCIATED PRESS

Maryland Gov. Wes Moore speaks, Tuesday, Oct. 29, 2024, at the Dundalk Marine Terminal in Baltimore. (AP Photo/Daniel Kucin Jr.)ASSOCIATED PRESS

President Joe Biden speaks during an event about his Investing in America agenda, Tuesday, Oct. 29, 2024, at the Dundalk Marine Terminal in Baltimore. (AP Photo/Daniel Kucin Jr.)ASSOCIATED PRESS

President Joe Biden walks into BMORE LICKS, a homemade ice cream business in Baltimore, Tuesday, Oct. 29, 2024, after speaking the Port of Baltimore. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)ASSOCIATED PRESS

FILE - The cargo ship Dali is stuck under part of the structure of the Francis Scott Key Bridge after the ship hit the bridge, Tuesday, March 26, 2024, as seen from Pasadena, Md. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein, File)ASSOCIATED PRESS

Baltimore Mayor Brandon M. Scott speaks, Tuesday, Oct. 29, 2024, at the Dundalk Marine Terminal in Baltimore. (AP Photo/Daniel Kucin Jr.)ASSOCIATED PRESS

Gov. Wes Moore, D-Md., speaks before President Joe Biden arrives to speak at the Port of Baltimore in Baltimore, Tuesday, Oct. 29, 2024. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)ASSOCIATED PRESS

President Joe Biden speaks during an event about his Investing in America agenda, Tuesday, Oct. 29, 2024, at the Dundalk Marine Terminal in Baltimore. (AP Photo/Daniel Kucin Jr.)ASSOCIATED PRESS


WASHINGTON (AP) — The Biden administration is awarding nearly $3 billion to boost climate-friendly equipment and infrastructure at ports across the country, including Baltimore, where a bridge collapse killed six construction workers in March and disrupted East Coast shipping routes for months.

President Joe Biden announced the federal funding Tuesday during a visit to the city's main port, saying the money will improve and electrify port infrastructure at 55 sites nationwide while supporting an estimated 40,000 union jobs, reducing pollution and combating the climate crisis. The presidential visit, a week before Election Day, was intended to highlight efforts by Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris to promote clean energy while protecting and creating jobs.

“Ports are the linchpin to America’s supply chain,'' Biden said in a speech at Dundalk Marine Terminal, near the site of the March 26 bridge collapse that closed commercial shipping traffic for nearly three months. A small blue and white sign near the site reminded passersby, “Project funded by President Joe Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act,'' the 2022 law approved with only Democratic votes.

While the grant announcement appeared timed to help Harris' campaign for president, Biden seemingly ignored those concerns as he followed Maryland Democratic Gov. Wes Moore to the outdoor podium, flanked by metal ship containers. “I think he may be the best governor in the country,” Biden said of Moore, bypassing a chance to praise Harris’ running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz.

Biden used his speech to repeatedly criticize former President Donald Trump, and he took an indirect swipe at a controversy Trump is facing after appearing at a weekend rally in New York where racist comments were made about Puerto Rico. Biden emphasized that federal funding for ports includes Puerto Rico. At one point, he even reminded himself with a laugh, “Don’t get going, Joe. Slow up.”

The Port of Baltimore, one of the busiest on the East Coast, is a major hub for the import and export of motor vehicles and farm equipment. More than 20,000 workers support port operations, including unionized longshoremen and truckers.

The Baltimore port and others across the country “keep goods moving — keep the economy strong,″ Biden said. “And they employ over 100,000 union workers, from Teamsters to longshoremen. But for too long, they’ve run on fossil fuels and aging infrastructure, putting workers at risk and exposing nearby communities to dangerous pollution.″



The new funding will help ports and communities across the country cut operating costs and keep consumer prices down, "while slashing carbon pollution and supporting an estimated 40,000 new, good-paying jobs to support clean energy manufacturing all across America,'' Biden said.

“This is about environmental justice,'' he added, citing studies that show higher childhood asthma, cancer and lung and heart disease in residents who live near U.S. ports.

Grants announced Tuesday include $147 million for the Maryland Port Administration to buy and install cargo-handling equipment and trucks to transition the port into a zero-greenhouse-gas-emission facility.

The Maryland port is among 55 ports across 27 states and territories that will receive nearly $3 billion through the Clean Ports Program administered by the Environmental Protection Agency. Ports receiving money include the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, the Detroit-Wayne County Port Authority, the ports of Savannah and Brunswick, Georgia, as well as Philadelphia, Los Angeles and Oakland, California.



The grants are funded by Biden's landmark climate law approved in 2022, the largest investment in clean energy in U.S. history.

Protecting people and the environment “doesn't come at the expense of a booming economy," EPA Administrator Michael Regan said before Biden's visit, offering an implicit rebuke to Trump and other Republicans who have complained that strict environmental regulations hinder the economy. “In fact, healthy communities and a strong economy go hand in hand," Regan said.

The grant announcements, which follow $31 million in federal funds to rehabilitate a section of Baltimore's Dundalk Marine Terminal, come a week after the owner and manager of the cargo ship that caused the deadly bridge collapse agreed to pay more than $102 million in cleanup costs to settle a lawsuit brought by the U.S. Justice Department.

The settlement does not cover any damages for rebuilding the bridge, a project that could cost close to $2 billion. The state of Maryland has filed its own claim seeking those damages, among others.



Funding though the Clean Ports program will slash more than 3 million metric tons of planet-warming carbon dioxide emissions equivalent to energy use by nearly 400,000 homes for one year, Regan said. It also will cut 12,000 short tons of nitrogen oxides and other harmful pollutants, he said.

John Podesta, senior White House adviser for international climate policy, said the grants will help fulfill a promise by Biden and Harris to “rebuild our nation’s infrastructure and tackle the climate crisis ... and uplift the communities who’ve borne the brunt of pollution."

In February, the EPA announced two separate funding opportunities for U.S. ports, a competition to directly fund zero-emission equipment and infrastructure and a separate competition for climate change and air-quality programs. More than $8 billion in requests from applicants across the country were received.

Democratic Sen. Alex Padilla of California hailed the grant announcement, which includes more than $1 billion for seven California ports. The Port of Los Angeles will receive $411 million, the largest award in the country.



“California’s ports move the goods that power our economy," Padilla said Tuesday, noting that state ports process about 40% of all containerized imports and 30% of U.S. exports. The EPA grants will help decarbonize the U.S. supply chain “to produce cleaner air in neighboring communities and meet our climate goals while creating green jobs,” Padilla said.

___

Associated Press writers Will Weissert in Washington and Ayanna Alexander in Baltimore contributed to this story.

Top US container ports awarded $1.6B to electrify

John Gallagher
Tue, October 29, 2024 

The Port of Los Angeles received $412 million for zero-emission equipment. (Photo: Port of Los Angeles)

WASHINGTON — The Biden administration has released $3 billion in funding aimed at cutting pollution at U.S. ports, with roughly half of that going to electrify some of the country’s largest container operations.

Of the 55 grant applicants across 27 states that were awarded money from the Environmental Protection Agency’s Clean Ports Program, the top five winners – the ports of Los Angeles, New York/New Jersey, Virginia, Baltimore and Oakland, California – received $1.6 billion.

Biden speaking at the Port of Baltimore on Tuesday. Credit: The White House

Much of that funding will go toward electric drayage trucks and cargo-handling equipment, along with charging infrastructure and battery energy storage systems.

“The new $3 billion in funding will strengthen supply chains, make American businesses more competitive, and keep consumer prices down while slashing carbon pollution and supporting an estimated 40,000 good paying jobs at ports across America,” said President Joe Biden, speaking at the Port of Baltimore on Tuesday.

The Maryland Port Authority, which oversees the port, will receive $146 million from the program, which is funded by appropriations provided by the Inflation Reduction Act.

The biggest grant winner, the Port of Los Angeles, which received $412 million, will use the money to buy 425 pieces of battery-electric, human-operated cargo-handling equipment and to deploy 250 electric drayage trucks. It will also provide $50 million for workforce development, including union-related jobs.

“The men and women of the ILWU [International Longshore and Warehouse Union] are thrilled to learn of this over $400 million investment by the U.S. EPA,” said ILWU Local 13 President Gary Herrera, in a news release.

“Human operated, zero-emission cargo-handling equipment is the gold standard for maritime port operations not only because it protects good jobs while cleaning the air, but is also the most efficient and cost-effective in terms of port operations, while additionally providing the necessary safeguards against cyber threats to our national security.”

The Virginia Port Authority, the second-largest grant winner, receiving $380 million, will use the funds to replace more than 150 pieces of old port-handling equipment at its Norfolk International Terminals and Richmond Marine Terminal with electric equipment including specialized cranes, forklifts, shuttle carriers for moving containers, and electric locomotives.

“This grant is truly transformative for our port and our community,” said Virginia Port Authority Executive Director Stephen Edwards, in a news release. “It will make our operations more efficient and sustainable, enhance our capabilities and allow us to continue making strides toward becoming the U.S. East Coast’s first net-zero port.”

Funding will be used for similar zero-emission equipment purchases and electric infrastructure for container operations at the Port of New York and New Jersey, which received $347 million, and the Port of Oakland, which received $322 million.

Biden lauds Port of Baltimore reopening, infrastructure investments
Mike Heuer
Tue, October 29, 2024 

President Joe Biden lauded the rapid re-opening of the Port of Baltimore during an outdoor event Tuesday afternoon and is pictured giving remarks at a Diwali celebration in the East Room of the White House on Monday. Pool Photo by Jim Lo Scalzo/UPIMore

Oct. 29 (UPI) -- President Joe Biden cited the reopening of the Port of Baltimore in June as evidence of the great things that can be done by investing in America and its infrastructure.

Biden spoke at an open-air event on a dock at the Port of Baltimore and lauded the port's re-opening after that deadly Francis Scott Key Bridge collapse that killed six bridge workers in March.

Biden said union workers and federal agencies made it possible to open the port about 2.5 months after the bridge collapse.

"The middle class built this country, and unions built the middle class," Biden said.

After the cargo ship Dali struck the bridge and caused its collapse early in the morning on March 26, Biden said 30,000 people lost their daily route to work, school and home and "40,000 paychecks" were put at risk.

Salvors with the Unified Command perform a controlled demolition and precision cutting of section 4 of the Francis Scott Key Bridge on May 13 as part of the efforts that re-opened the port 78 days after the deadly bridge collapse. File Photo by Christopher Rosario/U.S. Army Corps of Engineers/UPIMore

"We did everything possible to open this port as fast as possible," Biden said. "We removed 50,000 tons of concrete and steel."

Many estimated it would take six months to re-open the port, but Biden said, "You cleared it in 78 days."

He said $60 million in federal funding and grants helped fund the cleanup and kept businesses open.

Now that the port is reopened, Biden said 8,000 people are back to work and the Port of Baltimore handles 100,000 tons of cargo every day.

"We won't stop until a new bridge is finished," Biden said. "We have to build it back better than before."

He wants Congress to fully fund new bridge construction this year and cited the Port of Baltimore and the pending replacement of the Francis Scott Key Bridge as examples of his "Investing in America" policy.

One of two shipping containers located near the stage held an "Investing in America" sign.

Other examples Biden cited as part of his infrastructure and investment policy include $3 billion in funding from the Inflation Reduction Act for projects in 27 states and territories and $447 million to upgrade equipment and energy at the Port of Baltimore.

He said the port and other locations have depended on fossil fuels for too long, which causes "dangerous pollution" that afflicts children with asthma, heart disease, lung disease and cancer.

Cutting costs at the nation's port facilities will extend supply chains, make businesses more competitive, lower consumer costs and create 40,000 new jobs, Biden said.

He cited the Port of Baltimore as an example, where 2,000 new jobs were created for longshoremen, iron workers and others.

Those are "good-paying union jobs you can raise your families on," Biden said. "This is what we call 'investing in America.' It's working!"

Biden said the United States has the world's strongest economy thanks to legislation enacted during his presidency, including the Chips and Science Act, Inflation Reduction Act and fighting climate change.

The United States is the only nation that emerges from a crisis, like the COVID-19 pandemic, stronger than what it was before the crisis occurred, Biden added.

He said his administration created a record 16 million new jobs, wages are up and inflation is down to the same rate it was before the pandemic.

His administration brought jobs and factories back to the United States, he said, and 19 million new business applications have been filed since he took office.

"Consumer confidence is up [and] the economy is growing," Biden said. "The middle class is doing well."

He said he felt a sense of pride with the rapid reopening of the Port of Baltimore.

"A true measure of a person is not how often you get knocked down," Biden said. "It's how fast you get back on your feet."

"That's what 'Baltimore Strong' is," Biden added. "Let's keep working together."

The president spoke for about 15 minutes during the event that started at 2 p.m. EDT and ended about 30 minutes later.


Biden in Baltimore: Key Bridge funding, ice cream and a $147 million pledge for Port of Baltimore

Jeff Barker, The Baltimore Sun
Tue, October 29, 2024 


BALTIMORE — President Joe Biden, continuing to make Baltimore a symbol of his administration’s push to upgrade aging infrastructure, pledged $147 million in grants to reduce greenhouse gas emissions at the Port of Baltimore.

He also reiterated his pledge to fully fund the replacement of the Francis Scott Key Bridge. That commitment must be made by Congress, which hasn’t yet passed legislation to fund the project at 100%.

“We won’t stop until the new bridge is finished completely,” Biden said Tuesday at the Dundalk Marine Terminal in Baltimore. “I call on Congress to fully fund it this year.”

The Maryland Port Administration will receive $145 million in Environmental Protection Agency grants to purchase zero-emission cargo handling and other equipment, and new heavy-duty transport trucks and locomotives, according to the White House. It said the port also will receive $2 million to help it “chart a path to greater emissions reductions in the future.”

The infusion of money is expected to ultimately lead to 2,000 jobs as the projects occur over the next three to four years, according to administration estimates.

The aid is part of a $3 billion national investment in ports that was part of the Inflation Reduction Act signed by Biden in 2022. It is aimed at reducing pollution for port workers and surrounding communities and creating union jobs.

Biden spoke at the marine terminal in front of a red, white and blue sign reading, “President Joe Biden. Investing in America.” Shipping vessels were visible in the water behind him.

Before Biden spoke, Mayor Brandon Scott, Democratic Sen. Ben Cardin, Baltimore County Executive Johnny Olszewski Jr., and other Maryland lawmakers thanked the president for his support of Baltimore and the port.

“Thank you, President Biden, for coming to our rescue and being with us all the way,” Cardin said, thanking Biden in particular for his pledge to obtain 100% federal funding to replace the Key Bridge following its collapse that killed six construction workers and halted activity at the Port of Baltimore in March.

Speaking before Biden, Gov. Wes Moore recounted the Key Bridge collapse in March.

“The Port of Baltimore is back,” Moore said. “It’s great that today we’re here because of a triumph.”

Biden’s speech, one week before the presidential election, was part of a push by national Democrats to promote the administration’s efforts to upgrade aging infrastructure. Biden has joked that Republicans who voted against a massive infrastructure package in 2021 now seek to claim credit for large projects in their districts.

The $146 million for Maryland will come from a grant program called “Clean Ports” that the state’s port administration applied for and is administered by the EPA, which lists the project start date as Feb. 1.

Biden has made Baltimore a symbol of his push to upgrade ports, roads, bridges, transit systems and broadband.

In 2021, the Democratic president toured the port to celebrate the passage of the infrastructure improvement legislation that came as American ports, particularly along the West Coast, experienced jams that spurred price jumps for many products as the nation recovered from the coronavirus pandemic.

More recently, Biden visited Baltimore following the Key Bridge collapse.

He pledged then that his administration would help clear the channel — that was completed in June — and secure full federal funding for the bridge replacement.

The $147 million is distinct from the push by Maryland lawmakers to secure 100% funding from Congress for the replacement of Key Bridge. That effort is ongoing, and Maryland Democratic Sen. Chris Van Hollen said Tuesday that the state’s federal delegation hopes to have that approval from Congress by the end of the year.

Biden headed from the port to BMORE LICKS, a popular Canton ice cream store.

“Oh my god, Joe Biden is here,” a passerby shouted.

The small shop became a news conference venue as Biden was asked about North Korean troops and Vice President Kamala Harris’ campaign speech Tuesday night.

Biden said he planned to watch Harris’ speech in Washington but not attend. “It’s for her,” he said.

The corner shop, with a mural of an ice cream cone on an outside wall, advertises “homemade hard ice cream” and “flurries.”

Gaza’s toxic air a ‘death sentence’ for trapped Palestinians, warn experts

Nearly 1 million cases of acute respiratory infections reported in Gaza since Oct. 7, according to WHO data

Rabia Ali |10.09.2024 - TRT/AA 

Experts fear more birth defects, lung cancers, mouth cancers, chronic respiratory illnesses and asthma cases in Gaza

ISTANBUL

Experts are warning that millions of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip are breathing toxic and polluted air that is nothing short of a “death sentence.”

Hundreds of thousands of people in the besieged and bombarded enclave are suffering breathing problems and respiratory issues, and doctors say the scale of the problem will continue to grow as Israeli bombs disperse more chemicals into the air, mixing with dust from the unending mounds of rubble throughout Gaza.

The extent of the crisis will also become clearer when Gaza’s health system is restored and hospitals get back the ability to conduct tests and offer other basic services destroyed in Israel’s ongoing assault.

Dr. Riyad Abu Shamala, a Palestinian ENT specialist in Gaza, fears an increase in birth defects in the near future, along with cases of lung cancer, particularly once “hospitals resume operations and departments such as radiology, MRI, CT scan and others … are restored.”

“I believe the general situation will worsen due to the deterioration of living conditions, increased pollution, lack of sanitation, and the contamination of water and air,” he told Anadolu.

Since Oct. 7 last year, the World Health Organization (WHO) has recorded 995,000 cases of acute respiratory infections in Gaza.

Yara Asi, an academic specializing in health management, believes these numbers are likely a significant undercount.

“It’s much worse than we know because there are countless people that are in homes or in shelters with no access to physicians or hospitals to tell them about their ailments,” said Asi, an assistant professor at the University of Central Florida’s School of Global Health Management and Informatics.

Why are respiratory infections rising in Gaza?

The problem is rooted in “air pollution caused by dust, debris, chemicals from the destruction of buildings … and explosions,” said Abu Shamala.

Another major pollutant is vegetable oil that is being used as a substitute for diesel, he said.

The living conditions in Gaza are dire, with severe overcrowding in displacement camps, thousands of tents in close proximity, and piles of garbage everywhere, which are exacerbating the health crisis, said the doctor.

Along with that is the weakened immunity of people who are malnourished and relying on canned food as the main source of sustenance, he said.

Abu Shamala said the most common respiratory ailments among Gazans right now are acute and chronic bronchial asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), pneumonia, bronchitis, sarcoidosis, and lung cancer.

Most people have symptoms such as severe cough, difficulty in breathing, phlegm with cough, including bloody phlegm, rapid breathing and wheezing, he added.

Since last October, Israel has dropped more than 70,000 tons of bombs on Gaza, and there is more than 40 million tons of rubble across the enclave.

“There are thousands of tons of rubble and dust and people don’t have the tools to clear it. They don’t have the machinery, they don’t have appropriate masks, they’re just walking around in this environment,” said Asi.

Civil rescue workers are literally inside destroyed buildings, trying to dig through the rubble with no protective gear, she said.

“This, of course, will also exacerbate respiratory illnesses,” said Asi.

Normally, smoking is the biggest cause for COPD, but Gaza’s case is entirely different, she said.

“This isn’t a population that is smoking. This is a population that is living amid ruins ... with dust, smoke and toxic chemicals that they cannot avoid,” said Asi.

Is prevention possible?

Another major unknown and exacerbating factor, according to Asi, is the kind of warfare being seen in Gaza.

There is indiscriminate bombing all around civilian areas and with bombs packing thousands of pounds of explosives, she said.

“We’ve seen glimpses of this in Syria, but in many cases there, aside from areas under siege, people were able to escape. Here, they are trapped,” said the researcher.

“It’s kind of an unprecedented health crisis in many ways.”

Health problems for the people of Gaza “will unfold over the years … (and) we will have to manage and deal with it,” she said.

Asi finds it particularly frustrating that many of the diseases that are threatening Palestinian lives are completely preventable or treatable.

“We have the treatments. We have vaccines for many of them ... All of that is gone, or never was in Gaza, because of the (Israeli) blockade,” she said.

She feels at a loss as to what Gazans can do to protect themselves.

“The ultimate fix … would be to leave Gaza entirely right now, but they cannot even do that,” she said.

“The only thing that will stop this at this point is a cease-fire, and a rigorous and sustained humanitarian effort that includes, in some cases, getting the most vulnerable people out of Gaza to receive the medical care they need.”

Long-term consequences

Asi warned that respiratory illnesses can have long-term consequences, including for babies, children, elderly people, people with compromised immune systems, people with cancer, and pregnant women.

“It is especially dangerous for children whose bodies, immune systems, and lungs are still developing,” she said.

There are studies on the link between exposure to viral infections or toxins and developing asthma or other types of wheezing disorders later in life, she added.

After the US dropped nuclear bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, there were more cases of cancers and other genetic anomalies for decades, as was the case after the Iraq war, said Asi.

“We saw greater incidents of cancers and other ailments, especially in children that were born in those settings,” she said.

“Gaza is yet another setting of environmental disaster and destruction that children are growing up or being born in.”

She fears there will be a rise in “lung cancers, mouth cancers, chronic respiratory illnesses, and asthma.”

“This could be a death sentence for many in the near or short-term future,” she warned.​​​​​​​

Türkiye: Plans for Harmful Coal Expansion

Toxic Air Affects Health in Surrounding Community


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Entrance to Çoğulhan village, located 500 meters from Afşin Elbistan, a coal power plant, Afşin, Kahramanmaraş, Türkiye. © 2024 Katharina Rall/Human Rights Watch

(Istanbul) – Türkiye’s Environment Ministry should not approve the planned addition of two more units at Afşin-Elbistan coal power plant A in the southeastern Kahramanmaraş province in view of the serious harm the plant has caused the surrounding community, Human Rights Watch said today.

Human Rights Watch research found that air pollution levels near plant A – and the later built plant B located two kilometers away – are dangerously high and that residents are experiencing health conditions that academic studies have attributed to toxic air. Despite an early government warning that a cancer explosion was expected in Afşin-Elbistan, the government has failed to monitor and reduce the harm with more stringent regulations and enforcement.

“Toxic air from coal power plants is killing thousands of people every year in Türkiye while authorities do little to prevent the problem or even to warn people of the harm to their health,” said Hugh Williamson, Europe and Central Asia director at Human Rights Watch. “Instead of authorizing the expansion of polluting coal power plants, the Turkish government should strengthen and enforce air quality standards and enable a just transition from coal to renewables by 2030.”

The government is continuing to expand coal plants notwithstanding significant progress in Türkiye’s renewable energy sources that research has shown would enable Türkiye to exit coal by 2030. Renewable energy sources currently make up 54 percent of Türkiye’s installed electricity capacity, significantly above the global average of about 30 percent, and the International Energy Agency projects renewable energy use to increase 50 percent between 2021 and 2026.

In May 2024, Human Rights Watch interviewed 28 residents about their experiences of air pollution in Afşin-Elbistan, including 11 women and 4 older people; 2 elected village headmen from nearby villages; the mayor of the nearby town of Elbistan, 2 academics, 5 health professionals working in the region, 2 lawyers, 1 public official, and 6 local activists. Human Rights Watch also reviewed and analyzed recent air quality data from the closest governmental monitoring station whose data is publicly available, satellite data of air pollution from the EU Copernicus program, and official government documents.

Human Rights Watch wrote letters to the relevant seven divisions at the Health Ministry and that the parent company of the firm operating coal plant, which had applied for the additional units; to the state-owned electricity generation company; and to local government authorities. It also wrote to the Turkish Statistical Institute requesting health data related to Afşin and Elbistan districts. None have responded.

Residents living near the coal plants said that friends, family, and neighbors had died from cancer and cardiovascular or respiratory ailments they believe were attributable to or exacerbated by the pollution from the nearby plants.

A 57-year-old man in a village about 500 meters from coal plant A has had respiratory illness for the past 13 years: “I have asthma, and my doctor says I need clean air. But there is no clean air. We are all ill here.”

Health care workers interviewed said they had seen increased rates of respiratory problems in areas surrounding the plants.

The coal mine feeding the power plants in Afşin-Elbistan is a so-called carbon bomb, one of the world’s largest fossil fuel production projects with a coal extraction capacity of 4.09 gigatons of carbon dioxide. Expanding the coal plant threatens Türkiye’s energy transition and jeopardizes Türkiye’s obligations under the Paris Agreement on Climate Change. Despite substantial investment in renewable energy sources, including solar and wind energy, Türkiye’s 2022 National Energy Plan makes no mention of a planned phaseout from coal-based electricity generation.

The country became Europe’s largest coal-fired electricity producer in early 2024 and accounts for 73 percent of planned but not-yet-constructed coal projects within the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and the EU that are actively seeking necessary approvals and financing. Based on the World Health Organization (WHO) estimates, more than 35,000 people died from air pollution in 2019 in Türkiye.

Türkiye should address air pollution as part of its constitutional and international legal obligations to realize the human rights to health, life, and a healthy environment and stop the expansion of coal plants in line with the duty to prevent exposure to toxic substances. The government should tackle the root causes of air pollution by drastically reducing the release of harmful pollutants, including with concrete actions to phase out coal by 2030 and refraining from expanding existing operations.

It should also take concrete steps to better monitor air quality and make the results easy to access and understandable by everyone, and by improving and applying rigorous air quality standards in line with WHO recommendations, especially in areas affected by coal plant emissions. The government should promptly introduce limits for PM2.5 – polluting particulate matter – concentrations in line with current EU regulations, and further strive to update its air quality standards to comply with proposed new EU standards expected to be adopted later in 2024. Data of emissions from large combustion plants should be made public.

“People in Afşin-Elbistan have been paying the price of coal-based electricity generation for decades,” Willamson said. “Instead of expanding a coal plant in an area where people have been exposed to high levels of pollution, the governments should urgently protect their lives and realize their right to a healthy environment.”

For additional details about air pollution and the situation in Türkiye, please see below.

Scientific research has found that exposure to air pollutants from coal power plants is associated with a risk of mortality more than double that of exposure from other sources and that canceling new coal plants would reduce air pollution related mortality globally.

The use of coal for electricity generation, alongside the domestic residential use of coal and wood for heating, creates heavy air pollution in Türkiye’s coal regions. Türkiye produces electricity by burning lignite, a low-quality polluting type of coal found in abundance throughout the country, in outdated coal plants.

Over four decades, successive Turkish governments have built and expanded two of the country’s biggest coal power plants, plants A and B, in Afşin-Elbistan. Emissions from plant A, which lacked technology to reduce emissions from its inception in 1984 through its temporary closure in 2023, are of particular concern, Human Rights Watch said. Plant A is 2.5 kilometers from plant B, which was built in 2004 using newer technologies.

Despite this, the Turkish authorities are due to be presented with an environmental impact assessment that gives the go-ahead for the construction of two additional units at power plant A, with an additional capacity of 688 MW and an investment cost of 37.5 billion Turkish Lira (at the time approximately 1.1. billion USD). A 2022 study commissioned by Greenpeace Mediterranean estimates that the planned expansion of the plant will lead to about 1,900 premature deaths over its 30-year economic lifespan.

Human Rights Watch analysis of air quality data from January 2021 to June 2024 found dangerously high levels of air pollution in the area surrounding the Afşin-Elbistan coal plants. Analysis of satellite data from the Copernicus Sentinel-5P mission shows that the average concentration of sulfur dioxide (SO2) was significantly higher over the plants and in the surrounding villages than over Elbistan, the location of the closest air quality monitoring station whose data is published. Residents living in villages close to the coal plants said they have not received any information about the risks from the plants in the region or how to help protect themselves.


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Map of the village of Çoğulhan, between the two Afşin-Elbistan coal plants. © Image © 2024 Airbus. Google Earth. Graphic © Human Rights Watch

Türkiye’s air quality standards are less strict than those recommended by WHO and do not include a limit for the harmful PM2.5 pollutant, responsible for the most deaths worldwide of any pollutant, leaving a major regulatory gap.


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© 2024

Coal, Health, and Climate Change

Globally, coal plants are responsible for over 20 percent of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions: more than any other single source contributing to the climate crisis. Burning coal, and in particular lignite, releases significant pollutants including particulate matter and sulphur dioxide (SO2), each of which can significantly harm health.

The impact of particulate matter of less than 10 micrometers (PM10) and of less than 2.5 micrometers (PM2.5) on human health is substantial. PM2.5 can reach deep into the lower respiratory tract, leading to serious respiratory and cardiovascular problems, and can easily enter the bloodstream and penetrate the lungs. Another pollutant of concern is SO2 which can cause harmful effects to the lungs, damage the cardiovascular and nervous systems and contribute to type 2 diabetes and even death.

Although Türkiye’s updated 2023 Nationally Determined Contributions, its climate action plan under the Paris Agreement, aims to increase the share of renewable energy sources in electricity generation, the country has not set a date for a coal exit. Allowing the addition of two new units with a total capacity of 688 MW to the existing 1.355 MW at the coal power plant Afşin-Elbistan A could undermine efforts to phase out coal.

Despite these advances, government data indicates that 36 percent of the electricity produced in Türkiye in 2022 was generated by coal plants. Türkiye’s operating coal fleet grew by 34 percent between 2015 and 2023.In the first quarter of 2024, the total installed capacity of coal plants was 20.2 GW, with an additional 2 GW capacity expected by 2035.

Coal Feeding Toxic Air

According to 2019 Turkish Health Ministry data air pollution is among the most important factors affecting life expectancy in Turkey. A 2001 scientific study found that communities near coal plants in the western province of Kütahya are more likely to experience health problems such as respiratory problems and reduced lung function, conditions commonly linked to air pollution.

Another study, first published in 2010, found that the impact of air pollution on people in villages near the Bursa Orhaneli coal plant in northwest Türkiye was dependent on their proximity to the coal plant as a predictor of various respiratory diseases. Children living in Türkiye’s coal-mining areas are also at higher risk of exposure to dangerous heavy metals.

Türkiye has f 380 air quality monitoring stations across the country; the closest to Afşin-Elbistan coal plant A with publicly available data is in Elbistan, 22 kilometers away. Other stations are within 3 kilometers of the plant produce no publicly available data.


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Data © OpenStreetMap

Human Rights Watch analysis of SO2 concentrations recorded at the Elbistan ground monitoring station between 2019 and June 2024 shows that pollution levels started to decrease when operations of plant A temporarily ceased between February and May 2020 because the government said it had failed to comply with regulatory requirements.

Pollution levels decreased even more significantly when operations of plants A and B ceased for most of 2023 after the two earthquakes of February 6, 2023, affecting the entire region and slightly damaging the plant. The Right to Clean Air Platform (CAP), a national network of environmental groups and health professionals, similarly found that Afşin-Elbistan was a pollution hotspot in 2019.


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The graph above represents the daily average of SO2 concentration between January 2019 and June 2024 measured at Elbistan air quality monitoring station. Pollution levels started to decrease when operations temporarily ceased between February and May 2020. Pollution levels decreased more significantly when operations also ceased for most of 2023 after the two earthquakes of February 6, 2023. For comparison, the graph above includes the daily WHO recommended SO2 concentration limit of 45 µg/m³, the proposed EU 2030 standards limit of 50 µg/m³ limit, and the 2019 Turkish standards limit of 125 µg/m³. © 2024 Human Rights Watch

The SO2 values recorded at the government ground level monitoring station in Elbistan are very likely to be much lower than at the levels at locations closer to the plant. The average SO2 vertical column density at ground level from January 1, 2019, to June 1, 2024, over the village of Çoğulhan, directly adjacent to the plant, was almost three times higher than the average density recorded over the monitoring station in Elbistan during that period.


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Map of the average SO2 concentration from January 1, 2019, to June 1, 2024, around the Afşin-Elbistan coal power plant A showing significantly higher levels in the immediate vicinity of the plant than over the closest monitoring station, 22km away in the town of Elbistan. Data © Copernicus Sentinel-5P processed with Google Earth Engine. Analysis and graphic © Human Rights Watch.

The Afsin-Elbistan A plant had been allowed to operate without filters required by environmental regulations for many years. Despite repeated legal challenges and campaigning that resulted in its closure on January 1, 2020 for failure to comply with environmental regulations, the government permitted the plant to reopen in May 2020 and to continue operating until the earthquakes, which damaged the plants. As of December 26, 2023, only one of four A plant units, for the first time fitted with a desulfurization filter, had been permitted to restart.

While the best available technology for desulfurization can drastically lower SO2 emissions, it is unclear whether this technology is used at the unit that has been permitted to restart. There are also concerns that air pollutant filters lose performance efficiency over time. As is acknowledged in the environmental impact assessment, if new units are added to the existing coal plant, SO2 pollution levels in the area will rise. In addition, while the best available desulphurization technology can significantly limit exposure to SO2, it cannot undo the health harm caused by prior exposure.

In November 2018, Çelikler Holding, a private company, took over Afsin-Elbistan A plant, from the state company (EÜAŞ), which previously operated it. Human Rights Watch does not know the terms of the agreement between the state company and Çelikler Holding and key details of the agreement should be made public.

Çelikler Holding says on their website that they “aim to prevent negative impacts on the environment and society and to take appropriate measures [to reduce such impacts] where they cannot be prevented.” The company did not respond to questions about the measures taken to minimize the release of harmful air pollutants and requested projections once filtration is fully installed at the plant.

Human Rights Watch analysis of PM2.5 levels recorded at the government monitoring station in Elbistan from January 2021 to June 2024 found that the average PM2.5 concentration was more than five times the annual WHO recommended level and almost three times the proposed 2030 EU standard. Türkiye has not established PM2.5 limits under its pollution control laws/standards aligned with the EU limits.


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The graph above represents the daily average PM2.5 concentration between January 2021 and June 2024 measured at Elbistan air quality monitoring station. For comparison, the WHO recommendation (daily average no higher than 45 µg/m³) and proposed EU 2030 standard (daily average no higher than 25 µg/m³) are also displayed. © 2024 Human Rights Watch

Human Rights Watch analysis of PM10 concentrations at the Elbistan air quality monitoring station between January 2021 and June 2024 also shows that pollution levels have remained high in recent years, with an average PM10 concentration more than four times the annual WHO recommended level and 1.75 times the 2019 Turkish standard.


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The graph above represents the daily average of PM 10 concentration between January 2021 and June 2024 measured at Elbistan air quality monitoring station. For comparison, the 2019 Turkish daily standard (50 µg/m³), the WHO recommendation and the proposed EU 2030 daily standard (45 µg/m³) are also displayed. © 2024 Human Rights Watch

Health Impacts of Toxic Air Fed by Coal in Afsin-Elbistan

The United Nations Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights has told governments that to protect and fulfil the right to health governments are required to implement policies to reduce and eliminate air pollution.

People living in the vicinity of the coal plants in Afşin-Elbistan described health problems that they believe could be related to the toxic air they are breathing.

Hacıkız Savran, 70, who lives less than 500 meters from the power plant and can see the plant’s chimney belching out smoke from her living room, said she has had severe asthma for more than 7 years: “[My] doctor was surprised to hear that I had never smoked in my life. He said, ‘Why did you become [this sick] if you never smoked?’”

Fatma (real name withheld for her own protection) 55, lives in Çoğulhan, has had asthma for 4 years and lost her son to lung cancer which she believes was linked to pollution from the plant. She worries about the impact of air pollution on women: “There is a lot of asthma and a lot of chest and lung conditions among women in the village.… Men can go off in their cars to other places but we as women are always at home. We have to suffer the dirt of the plant.”

Children from Çoğulhan and six neighboring villages attend schools close to the plant. A health professional in Elbistan told Human Rights Watch that they had observed a high incidence of respiratory diseases, particularly among children.


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Map of the location of the schools in Çoğulhan, highlighting their proximity with the plant and the area for the additional two units. Image © 2024 Airbus. Google Earth. © Graphic © Human Rights Watch

People with certain health conditions, such as asthma or cardiovascular problems, children, older people, pregnant women, workers, those living in poverty, and members of other socially and economically marginalized groups are among those most at risk of exposure and adverse effects of air pollution.

Scientific research drawing on data from 83 countries suggests that the more a country relies on coal power plants to generate energy, the greater the lung cancer risk. While research specific to the health impacts of air pollution for people in surrounding areas of the Afşin-Elbistan coal plant is scarce, a 2009 PhD thesis found that nonsmokers in nearby villages were more likely to experience genotoxic damage than those further away from the plant, which may increase the risk of cancer.

Similarly, a 2007 academic study found nonsmoking workers employed in the transportation of fly ash at Afşin-Elbistan A power plant to be more likely to experience cytogenetic damage (changes in their chromosomes which can lead to cancer).

Several people interviewed expressed concern about high numbers of cancer cases in their families.In 2002, the head of the Health Ministry’s Cancer Control Department stated that a cancer explosion was expected in Afşin-Elbistan, in the ensuing five years. The official noted that a coal power plant had been built there 30 years earlier and that the coal plant poses a serious danger to the people of the region.

A 2017 report by the same ministry identified Elbistan as a priority region for establishing an oncology service, a recommendation that has not been followed. The Health Ministry did not respond to questions regarding cancer prevalence in Afşin and Elbistan districts and whether further studies had been carried out.

Lack of Sufficient Monitoring of Air Quality

In 2019, the UN special rapporteur on human rights and the environment published a report focused on the right to breathe clean air as one of the components of a right to a healthy environment. He outlined key steps governments to take in fulfilling the right to a healthy environment by ensuring clean air, the first of which is to monitor air quality and its impact on health.

Over the years, Türkiye has invested in developing its air quality monitoring systems, supported by EU accession funds. Yet the number of stations remain insufficient and data from areas at high risk of pollution is not available to the public.

While the Turkish government air quality monitoring website provides measurements from ground level monitoring stations across the country, the historic data is at times incomplete and pollution hotspots like Afşin-Elbistan are not closely monitored. According to analysis of 2016-2019 data, conditions in at least 21 of 81 provinces could not be adequately assessed because data was available for fewer than 75 percent of days, a criterion of the European Environment Agency.

Residents of Çoğulhan said that a monitoring station in the village was no longer operational, and no data from the station is publicly available. Human Rights Watch wrote in May 2024 to government and to the state-run electricity production company (EÜAŞ) seeking any data from the station, but received no reply.

These shortcomings prevent the Turkish government from reliably monitoring the impact of coal plants on air quality.

Lack of Information, Consultation about Power Plant Expansion

Another key step for governments to take to fulfill their human rights obligations is to share information in a timely, accessible way, educating the public about health risks and issuing health advisories.

Yet there is a dearth of information about the real extent of air pollution in the region and related health risks. In addition to the lack of effective monitoring of ground level air pollution, the emissions from large combustion plants, including coal plants, are not publicly available in Türkiye. Even when courts have ordered the government to provide emissions data of coal plants publicly, the authorities have not revealed the data.

Residents in Çoğulhan, Berçenek, and Altunelma, said they have not received any information about the extent of environmental problems in the region, possible health effects, or how to participate in decisions around the coal plant that would enable them to address prevent health risks and seek remediation for health harms suffered.

The Environment Ministry provides some health advice on a website, such as suggesting that members of sensitive groups limit outdoor activities when air pollution levels are high, but it does not provide detailed practical advice for at risk groups.

Residents also raised concerns about their lack of information about the planned expansion of the coal power plant. “They don’t ever tell us anything,” said Savran, the 70-year-old resident. “Everything is decided in Ankara.”

The newly elected mayor of Elbistan said that even municipal authorities were not consulted during the expansion approval process, an apparent violation of Turkish regulations governing the process.

Human Rights Obligations and Air Pollution

Human rights obligations to respect, protect, and fulfil rights including those to life, to bodily integrity, to health, to information and to a healthy environment require governments to take action to prevent air pollution and strive to ensure clean air. The UN Human Rights Committee, in its comment on obligations on the right to life noted that implementation of the obligation to respect the right to life, depends, among other things, on governments taking measures to protect the environment against pollution caused by public and private actors.

The UN special rapporteur on human rights and the environment has set out how states must not only not violate the right to breathe clean air through their own actions but also protect the right from being violated by third parties, especially businesses. To do so, governments must establish, implement and enforce laws, policies and programs to fulfil the right. They also have duties to promote education and public awareness; provide access to information; facilitate public participation in the assessment of proposed projects, policies and environmental decisions; and ensure affordable, timely access to remedies.

The European Court of Human Rights has found in several cases that severe environmental pollution affecting individuals’ well-being violated their rights to privacy and family life. In finding violations of human rights, the court has taken into account the proximity of homes to the source of pollution.

In its case-law, the court has established that governments have a positive obligation to undertake due diligence with respect to pollution hazards, weigh the impact they have on personal and family lives against any competing interests, and take effective measures to protect people’s lives and health, including by preventing or reducing the harmful impacts and providing adequate information to people.