Chronic Coal Pollution Turkey the Health Burden Caused by Coal Power in Turkey and How to Stop the Coal Addiction ABOUT
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Chronic coal pollution Turkey The health burden caused by coal power in Turkey and how to stop the coal addiction ABOUT This report is by Health and Environment Alliance (HEAL). Lead researcher: Funda Gacal, Health and Environment Alliance (HEAL) Authors: Funda Gacal, Anne Stauffer, HEAL Editor: Elke Zander, HEAL Editorial consultant: Zoe Casey Technical report: Lauri Myllyvyrta and Rosa Gierens, Center for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA). Responsible editor: Genon K. Jensen, Health and Environment Alliance (HEAL). This report is endorsed by the following organisations: Europe Beyond Coal (EBC), Association of Public Health Specialists in Turkey (HASUDER) , Association of Doctors for the Environment in Turkey (ISDE Turkey), Climate Change Policy and Research Association (CCPRA), Turkish Medical Association (TMA), Turkish Thoracic Society, Turkish Respiratory Society (TÜSAD), Yuva Association HEAL warmly thanks all the health, environmental and energy experts who provided input and feedback on this report, including Muzaffer Başaran (mechanical engineer, MSc) and Orhan Aytaç (mechanical engineer), Bengisu Özenç (Sustainable Economics and Finance Association-SEFiA), Prof. Dr. Çiğdem Çağlayan (HASUDER), Asst. Prof. Dr. Melike Yavuz (HASUDER), Asst. Prof. Dr. Semih Ayta and Prof. Dr. Demet Özbabalık Adapınar (Turkish Neurological Society). The methodology of this report and health calculations have been reviewed by Dr. Mike Holland, EMRC. Graphic design: JQ&ROS Visual Communications Any reproduction in full or in parts must mention the title and credit. Suggested citation: Health and Environment Alliance. (January 2021). Chronic coal pollution Turkey. The health burden caused by coal power in Turkey and how to stop the coal addiction. This work is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 IGO licence (CC BYNC-SA 3.0 IGO; https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/igo) HEAL gratefully acknowledges the financial support of the European Climate Foundation (ECF) for the production of this publication. The responsibility for the content lies with the authors and the views expressed in this publication do not necessarily reflect the views of the EU institutions and funders. The Executive Agency for Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises (EASME) and the funders are not responsible for any use that may be made of the information contained in this publication. HEAL’s EU Transparency Register Number: 00723343929-96 The health impact methodology used in this report is guided by recommendations from the World Health Organization (WHO) ‘Health risks of air pollution in Europe’ (HRAPIE) project on health impact assessments for air pollution, as implemented in the Europe’s Dark Cloud report. It includes atmospheric modelling with the European Monitoring and Evaluation Programme Meteorological Synthesizing Centre - West (EMEP MSC-W) computer model, which is also used by the European Environment Agency for European Commission assessments of health impacts from air pollution in Europe. The assessments are based on publicly available, relevant data known by the authors; this data may not be exhaustive and there may exist further or updated information they were not aware of at the time of writing. Chronic coal pollution Turkey The health burden caused by coal power in Turkey and how to stop the coal addiction LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS de-SOx Technologies designed to remove sulphur oxides de-NOx Technologies designed to remove nitrogen oxides EU European Union countries EUR Euro currency GW Gigawatts GWh Gigawatt-hour MW Megawatt NO2 Nitrogen dioxide NOx Nitrogen oxides PM Particulate matter PM2.5 Particulate matter size 2.5 micrometers or less PM10 Particulate matter size 10 micrometers or less RES Renewable energy sources SO2 Sulphur dioxide SOx Sulphur oxides TRY Turkish lira TWh Terawatt-hour USD US dollar VOCs Volatile organic compounds WHO World Health Organization 4 HEAL: Chronic coal pollution Turkey - The health burden caused by coal power in Turkey and how to stop the coal addiction CONTENTS Executive summary 6 1. The reliance on coal power generation in Turkey 8 2. The science: coal power, air pollution and health 9 Air pollution: the top environmental threat to people’s health 9 How air pollution from coal-fired power plants damages health9 3. Gap in transparency: emissions data not publicly available 12 4. Results: assessing the health cost of air pollution from operating coal power plants in Turkey 13 The current health burden 13 Specific impacts on children’s health14 The top existing polluters 17 Methodology 18 5. Focus on coal hotspots: Çanakkale, Adana and Hatay, Eskişehir and Muğla 19 Health statements from Turkish Thoracic Society and Canakkale Chamber of Medicine 20 Adana Environment and Consumer Protection Association 22 The Association of Public Health Specialists in Turkey (HASUDER) 23 Eskişehir-Bilecik Chamber of Medicine Management Board 23 Turkish Thoracic Society 25 HASUDER and Right to Clean Air Platform – Turkey 28 Turkish Medical Association, Right to Clean Air Platform – Turkey 28 6. The cure: invest in healthy energy 26 Pollution filters will not solve the problem26 Coal phase out a triple win: climate, clean air, health 27 7. Recommendations and health sector engagement to end the coal addiction 29 8. Annexes 31 Annex 1: Health impacts and associated health costs 31 Annex 2: Overview on large coal plants included in this report 35 Annex 3: Comparison of air pollution limits in industrial pollution regulations 40 Annex 4: Methodology and sources for health impact modelling 42 9. Notes 48 HEAL: Chronic coal pollution Turkey - The health burden caused by coal power in Turkey and how to stop the coal addiction 5 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY In Europe, coal power is playing an increasingly This report aims to quantify the health burden of diminished role in the electricity market which Turkey’s 28 large coal power plants that operated is reinforced by political decisions on phase outs in 2019, which burn lignite, hard coal or asphaltite. across the region, and the implementation of the These plants are responsible for generating Paris Climate Agreement. approximately 37% of Turkey’s electricity. The analysis is a detailed update of HEAL’s 2015 Unpaid In contrast, Turkey continues to rely on coal power Health Bill report. generation, and the government has plans for a significant increase, which would more than double The report also includes a special focus on four coal the current 19 GW coal power capacity. Thirty new hotspots where a huge increase in coal capacity is coal power plants are in the pipeline (permitted, planned; the cities of Çanakkale, Adana and Hatay, announced or at pre-permit stage) totalling 33 GW. Muğla, and Eskişehir. This expansion is a public health threat given that existing coal power generation already causes an unacceptably high health burden in Turkey from the massive amount of air pollution released. KEY FINDINGS In 2019, emissions from coal power plants The annual economic cost of these in Turkey led to: health impacts in Turkey and across the region are 47.41 - 99.37 billion Turkish 4,818 premature deaths, Lira, or 5.20 - 10.90 billion EUR. 3,070 cases of preterm births , 26,500 cases of bronchitis in children, 3,230 new cases of chronic bronchitis in adults, The health costs of coal power 5,664 hospital admissions, generation in Turkey alone are 26.07 - 237,037 days of asthma and bronchitis symptoms 53.60 billion TRY (2.86 - 5.88 EUR), which in asthmatic children, is equivalent to 13 - 27% of Turkey’s each year health expenditure (201.03 billion 1,480,000 lost working days, TRY, calculation based on health care 11,300,000 sickness days and expenditure by private and public sector 8,850 lost IQ points due to mercury exposure. data from TurkStat, 2019). Health impacts and costs from climate change have This huge health (economic) burden and measures to reduce it are currently not been considered, which are fuelled by CO2 releases of coal plants and further add to the health not taken into account in any policy and economic impact from coal power. considerations and decisions. 6 HEAL: Chronic coal pollution Turkey - The health burden caused by coal power in Turkey and how to stop the coal addiction Gap in transparency: emissions data not publicly available The report is a major endeavour to fill data gaps on or even from the electricity sector as a whole. emissions of existing coal plants. While EU member Furthermore, there is a lack of studies and data states are legally required to report emissions about the effects of air pollution on health in at plant level to a publicly accessible database Turkey. To overcome data limitations, this report is (E-PRTR), Turkey does not share power plant or based on extensive research and collaboration. The sectoral emission data. Instead, it reports merged technical details of the coal plants which influence data for electricity generation and the heating air pollution levels were studied, alongside real time sector, under international commitments. electricity generation. Filtration systems, which can reduce but not eliminate pollution, were also This makes it challenging to pinpoint emissions studied. coming only from coal powered energy sources, Coal phase out as a triple win for health, clean air and the climate The Turkish health sector recommends a full coal to play and can add a long neglected perspective phase out, involving the closure of existing coal to the debate about Turkey’s energy future. The plants, an end to building new ones, and health report recommends that the capacity of health and environmental impact assessments to allow and medical organisations should be increased informed energy choices. for further engagement in debates on the health impacts and costs of coal and energy production. It In addition, the Turkish government should also also recommends health professionals to highlight increase their climate commitment, with e.g. the true costs of coal power generation in economic adopting an ambitious 2030 greenhouse emissions and public health deliberations and decisions.