Coal to blame in most air pollution deaths — study

摘要

China's coal fervor has deleterious health consequences, according to a new study claiming that burning the fossil fuel led to 366,000 premature deaths across the country in 2013. The study, released by Tsinghua University in Beijing and the Boston-based Health Effects Institute, also found that coal dust makes up 40 percent of the fine particulate matter in China's atmosphere. This particulate matter, known as PM2.5, leads to lung disease and can be fatal when inhaled. The study claimed that coal is the largest culprit for deaths related to air pollution in China. The fossil fuel is China's largest source of greenhouse gas emissions and other air pollution alike. On a yearly basis, the country burns nearly as much coal as all other countries combined.