Annual Health Detriment to Hoosiers due to Coal Pollution:

• 887 deaths
• 1,491 heart attacks
• 114 lung cancer deaths
• 21,532 asthma attacks
• 845 hospital admissions
• 618 cases of chronic bronchitis
• 1,274 asthma ER visits

Source: Clear the Air

• 7% of women of childbearing age have blood mercury levels that are higher than what the EPA considers safe to protect the developing nervous system of a fetus.

Source: EPA

Environmental Damage Caused by Coal:

• Global Warming
• Forest and crop damage
• Mercury contamination of the fish in ALL of Indiana 's rivers and lakes
• Acid Rain - the average pH of rain in Indiana is 4.5, which is ten times more acidic than normal rain (normal rain has a pH of 5.5)
• Emissions of carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxides, particulate matter, sulfur dioxide, volatile organic compounds, sulfur dioxide, lead, beryllium, mercury, and fluorides, to name a few

Source: Clear the Air

The Hidden Costs of Coal Not Included in Your Bill:

• $5 billion each year is spent in Indiana on health care costs related to fine particle pollution

Source: Dr. Stephen Jay, Chair of the Department of Public Health at the Indiana University School of Medicine

• $13 million a year in tourism revenue is lost each year at Indiana 's National Parks because of smog and haze due to power plant pollution

Source: Abt Associates study prepared for Clean Air Task Force

• $87 million a year is lost in farm revenue due to crop losses caused by ground level ozone (smog created by nitrogen oxides emitted from coal-fired power plants) which reduces plant growth and yield

Source: Clean Air Task Force

• Acid rain causes damage to buildings, historical monuments and even cars

For more information, download the Duke IGCC Fact Sheet in PDF format.