Health impacts of coal-fired power generation in South Africa
12 September 2017
In September 2017, Dr Mike Holland, a UK-based air-quality and health expert, gave a presentation to the National Assembly’s Portfolio Committee on Environmental Affairs on the health impacts of coal-fired power generation in South Africa. The key findings emerging from his presentation were that air pollution from coal-fired power stations kills more than 2,200 South Africans every year, and causes thousands of cases of bronchitis and asthma in adults and children annually; and that this costs the country more than R30 billion annually, through hospital admissions and lost working days.
