Massachusetts Medical Society's
Physician Focus
April 2010

Energy, Pollution and Health

PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTS:

• Fossil fuels – coal, oil, natural gas – are used to generate energy and electricity through combustion, which releases pollutants into the atmosphere.

• Every time we flip on a light switch or use electricity in the home, we generate particulate air pollution, comprised of such elements as carbon monoxide, ozone, nitrogen oxide, and even mercury.

• These pollutants have severe health consequences, contributing to asthma, lung and heart disease, and even developmental problems in fetuses and young children.

•  To reduce pollution and improve health, people should practice conservation, reduce use of fossil fuels, and use alternative transportation methods whenever possible.

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ADDITIONAL RESOURCES
Massachusetts Medical Society U.S. Environmental Protection Agency U.S. Department of Energy Physicians for Social Responsibility
"Energy, Pollution and Health" 60 sec. PSA You need the Flash Player to see this player.	Left to right: Mary Rice, M.D., Robert Naparstek, M.D., Richard Donahue, M.D. hi-res photo promo slide

Abundant sources of energy and easy access to them have brought Americans a standard of living envied by others around the world. Yet a dependence on fossil fuels – coal, oil, and natural gas – brings pollution, and pollution brings disease and poor health.

That was one of the messages brought by three physicians in Energy, Pollution, and Health, the April edition of Physician Focus, the Massachusetts Medical Society’s monthly healthcare educational program.

Three members of the Society’s Committee on Environmental and Occupational Health – Committee Chair Robert Naparstek, M.D., medical director of Caritas Good Samaritan Occupational Health Services in Avon, Massachusetts and the host of the program, and members Mary Rice, M.D., senior resident at Massachusetts General Hospital, and Richard Donahue, M.D., visiting scientist at the Harvard School of Public Health, discussed the use of fossil fuels, how pollution affects our individual health, and what individuals can do to reduce pollution and improve health.

Much of the pollution, Dr. Rice explained, is produced by our use of fossil fuels. As coal, oil, and natural gas are converted into energy through the process of combustion, particulates and gases are released into the air, producing the pollution.

In extreme cases, the worst health effects of pollution can be immediate and sometimes fatal, Dr. Donahue said, such as the fog from coal-burning home stoves that descended on London in 1952. The pollution became so bad that 1,200 people a day for a week died.

“What’s less obvious,” Dr. Donahue said, “is the long-term effect of lower levels of pollution.” He said such pollution can affect all parts of the body, especially the lungs and heart. “A mother’s exposure to pollution can even affect the growth of the baby inside the womb,” he said.

He said mercury is another dangerous piece of the pollution problem. Half of all the mercury we find in fish comes from coal-fired power plants. And that’s significant, as 50 percent of our energy use in the United States and 25 percent of our use in Massachusetts comes from plants powered by coal, the most polluting of the fossil fuels (followed by oil and natural gas)

Citing a local study on asthma in which she participated, Dr. Rice said it’s clear that air pollution makes asthma worse and leads to more asthma attacks. She said urban communities, with tightly packed populations, highways and constant traffic congestion, have a disproportionate exposure to disease and ill health.

Pulmonary conditions like asthma are but one of the many ill effects of pollution. Heart disease is another. Dr. Donahue called attention to an American Cancer Society study that found that people who live along highways have a 25 percent greater incidence of heart attacks because of their exposure to highway pollution caused by vehicle exhaust. “This can be important information for community planners,” he said, “when determining where to locate new communities.”

The doctors were quick to speak out on this critical public health issue. “Physicians should have a medical voice,” Dr. Donahue said ‘in looking at energy sources, determining their health effects, and then making recommendations for energy planning.”

The physicians were also quick to suggest ways individuals can help to reduce pollution. “Conservation is the easiest thing,” said Dr. Rice. “We can reduce our use of fuels with alternative methods of transportation such as car pools or biking.” She said we can also invest in alternative energy sources such as solar, wind, and geothermal, although she recognized that the current costs of these may be prohibitive to some. But she added, “Disease and early death can decrease with alternative energy sources.”

The medical profession has been recognizing the health impact of air pollution, through 20 or 30 years of good research,” Dr. Donahue concluded. “When it comes to fossil fuels, we should ask if this is an energy form that has more harm than good. It is time to look at healthier forms of energy.”

Text:
MMS/Richard Gulla