Both groups of children were followed by pregnancies. For the first group was a coal power plant started right from the conception and the goal was to see how emissions during the pregnancy (in utero) affect children's development later in life. Coal power plant, however, had been closed before the same point of the second group of children.
Coal-fired plants harms the brain
For the first group of children was a coal power plant associated with significantly lower scores for development and reduced motor skills at age two. At the same age showed no such extensive degradation of the second group. Coal power plant resulted in other words, in neurlogiska problems and developmental delays:
- This study provides direct evidence that the elimination of environmentally damaging coal-fired power plants benefit children's neurological development. These findings have major implications for energy policy as they demonstrate that a reduction in dependence on coal for energy provides a measurable positive effect on child development and health - in China and elsewhere, says Frederica Perera, DrPH, Professor of Environmental Health Sciences at the Mailman School of Public Health.
Developmental delay is increasing among children
Developmental disabilities have in the U.S. increased by 15% in recent decades. Columbia Center for Children's Environmental Health (CCCEH) have already shown that air pollution is a cause of this and delay the development of children. CCCEH föjde previous 700 pregnant women and their children in New York City. Problems CCCEH saw that pollution increased the risk included:
- Reduced weight at birth.
- Significantly lower scores at age three on Bayley's test.
- Delayed development of motor skills and cognition.
- Symptoms of ADHD.
- Pervasive developmental disorders more often three years of age (ie, autism, Asperger syndrome, CDD, Rett's syndrome and the like).
CCCEH recommend that you should avoid air pollution from fossil fuels and coal as much as possible, especially during pregnancy.
Remove pollutants in the home
Toxins found to damage children's nervous system includes not only air pollution from coal power plants, cars and industry, but also compounds we take direct control over the home. These include tobacco smoke and pesticides, but in general is great care with different types of household chemicals is very true.
Read more:
- Closure Of Coal-Burning Power Plant in China Directly Linked to Improved Cognitive Development in Children. Columbia University. Press release about the research. There is more to read about the study.
- Developmental Delays. Columbia Center for Children's Environmental Health. Here are the conclusions drawn from the earlier study in New York City. Factors and risks that delay children's development are reviewed and tips on what to avoid exposing the fetus to be given during pregnancy.
- Pervasive Developmental Disorders. HealthAtoZ.com. Here is an explanation of the term Pervasive Developmental Disorders.
- Coal-Fired Power Plant. TVA (Energy in the Tennessee Valley). Diagram explaining how a coal operation. From the large chimney can be placed toxins that cause development delays and developmental disabilities in children.
- In New York, Air Pollution Reacher Babies In The Womb. Genome News Network
- Bayley Scales of Infant Development. HighBeam Encyclopedia. There is more to read more about the Bayley Scales of Infant Development which has been used to detect development delays.
