Using data gathered from 450,000 people in the United States, investigators found that particles from burning coal contribute five times more to the risk of death from heart disease than other air pollution particles of the same size. According to the World Health Organization, air pollution kills approximately three million people worldwide each year. The authors of the analysis write that coal emissions are a major factor in this public health crisis, and these emissions must be reduced to lower the number of deaths caused by air pollution.
Environmental Health Perspectives, December 2015