How Air Pollution from Power Plants Threatens the Health of America’s Children

The report details how power plant emissions—including particulate matter, ozone, sulfur dioxide, and mercury—disproportionately harm children due to their developing physiology and higher activity levels. It links these pollutants to asthma, stunted lung growth, neurological deficits, and infant mortality, while advocating for nationwide emission caps and a transition to cleaner energy.

• Children are more susceptible to air pollution than adults because they breathe 50 percent more air pound-for-pound, spend more time outdoors, and have defense mechanisms that are not yet fully developed.
• Over 25 million children in the U.S. live in counties that violate national air quality standards for sulfur dioxide, particulate matter, and ozone, while 35 million children live within 30 miles of a power plant.
• Fine particulate matter (PM2.5) from power plants is linked to increased emergency room visits for asthmatic children, slowed lung function growth, and higher infant mortality rates.
• Ground-level ozone smog is associated with pediatric asthma exacerbation, hospitalizations, and may permanently stunt lung development, as evidenced by a study where exposed monkeys developed only half the normal number of lung branches.
• Sulfur dioxide, primarily emitted by power plants, is a respiratory irritant that can cause lung constriction in exercising asthmatics within 5 to 10 minutes of exposure.
• Mercury emissions from coal-fired power plants bioaccumulate in fish; maternal consumption of contaminated fish exposes fetuses to methylmercury, which can cause learning disabilities, attention deficits, and loss of IQ points.
• Approximately 6 million women of childbearing age in the U.S. have mercury levels above the EPA's safe level, putting roughly 390,000 newborns at risk of neurological effects.
• Coal-fired power plants are the largest U.S. source of air toxics, emitting developmental and neurological toxins that can contaminate groundwater and soil, increasing cancer risks for children living nearby, particularly those in poverty.
• Climate change driven by carbon dioxide emissions from power plants may increase the prevalence of infectious diseases, heat-related stress, and ozone smog formation, which further harms children's respiratory health.

APA

Hill, L. B., & Keating, M. (2002). How Air Pollution from Power Plants Threatens the Health of America’s Children. Clean Air Task Force. https://cdn.catf.us/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/21093523/Children_at_Risk.pdf

Chicago

Hill, L. Bruce, and Martha Keating. How Air Pollution from Power Plants Threatens the Health of America’s Children. Clean Air Task Force, 2002. https://cdn.catf.us/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/21093523/Children_at_Risk.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Hill |first1=L. Bruce |last2=Keating |first2=Martha |title=How Air Pollution from Power Plants Threatens the Health of America’s Children |publisher=Clean Air Task Force |date=May 2002 |url=https://cdn.catf.us/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/21093523/Children_at_Risk.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{hill2002how, author = {Hill, L. Bruce and Keating, Martha}, title = {{How Air Pollution from Power Plants Threatens the Health of America’s Children}}, institution = {Clean Air Task Force}, year = {2002}, month = may, url = {https://cdn.catf.us/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/21093523/Children_at_Risk.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }