How Bad Is Power Plant Pollution? Depends on the Weather
Making coal-fired plants less dangerous to health could be as simple as checking a special air quality forecast designed by Georgia researchers. Making coal-fired plants less dangerous to health could be as simple as checking a special air quality forecast designed by Georgia researchers. Making coal-fired plants less dangerous to health could be as simple as checking a special air quality forecast designed by Georgia researchers.
Just how dirty is a coal-fired power plant? The answer, it turns out, can change a lot from hour to hour.
The pollution that forms downwind of a power plant depends on shifting factors in the air. On some days, the mix produces hardly any of the fine particles that contribute to health problems such as asthma. On others, it can churn out more than twice as much.
What if you could predict when pollution will likely be worse and adjust electricity sources accordingly?
Researchers at the Georgia Institute for Technology say they've developed the first tool that can make those predictions. By pairing data about Georgia's electricity generation with air quality models, they were able to provide "accurate and fast" forecasts
