local artist’s windowsill cleanings

Using estimates as highlighted in Figure 1, the increased mortality risk means coal storage costs between $101 and $250 per ton in Cumberland County. In other words, we collectively pay up to $11.25 million in coal handling damages per year. Despite the closure of all coal-fired power plants in Maine and a transition to renewable energy, these local economic costs persist. ( ref )

local artist’s windowsill

Figure 1.

Akshaya Jha, Nicholas Z. Muller

Carnegie Mellon researchers have found unburned coal increases air pollution and can affect the communities where it is transported and stored… “Coal does not have to be burned to have an impact on the local environment and the health of residents. In our research, the effects from unburned coal appear only within 25 miles from the coal pile. That means, if you see a coal stockpile, you are within the range where it could be affecting you,” ( ref ).