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Blowin’ in the wind: Long-term downwind exposure to air pollution from power plants and adult mortality

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  • Tanaka, Shinsuke

Abstract

We estimate the causal effects of long-term exposure to air pollution emitted from fossil fuel power plants on adult mortality. We leverage quasi-experimental variation in daily wind patterns, which is further instrumented by the county orientation from the nearest power plant. We find that the county’s fraction of days spent downwind of plants within 20 miles in the last 10 years is associated with increased mortality from COVID-19 through the third peak in mortality in January 2021. This effect is more pronounced in fenceline communities with high poverty rates, low health insurance coverage, and low educational attainment.

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  • Tanaka, Shinsuke, 2024. "Blowin’ in the wind: Long-term downwind exposure to air pollution from power plants and adult mortality," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 128(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:jeeman:v:128:y:2024:i:c:s0095069624001463
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jeem.2024.103072
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Air pollution; Power plants; Long-term exposure; Environmental justice; COVID-19 mortality;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • Q53 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Environmental Economics - - - Air Pollution; Water Pollution; Noise; Hazardous Waste; Solid Waste; Recycling
    • I14 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Health and Inequality
    • I18 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Government Policy; Regulation; Public Health

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