Coal impacts: air pollution

When coal is burned it releases a number of airborne toxins and pollutants. They include mercury, lead, sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, particulates, and various other heavy metals.

2

Most effect on environment from CO2 emissions, in Sri Lanka CO2 from power plants contribute to 20% of total CO2

 The power station is in Noracholai, in the Kalpitiya Peninsula. Emissions from the 900MW coal power plant in the Kalpitiya peninsula is much above permissible standards possibly due to frequent breakdown, intermitted operations and unexpected storage of fly-ash in open pits.

The power plant also gives rise to a large amount of solid waste, heat waste and water pollution due to the release of heated water. This will have long term environmental impacts.

Air pollution generated in industrial and urban areas can act to suppress precipitation by creating a narrow cloud droplet spectrum, which inhibits the collision and coalescence process.

Downward Thermal Infrared (Longwave) Radiative Flux divergence also plays a role in the formation of fog, magnitude of variation of the divergence has increased in recent years leading to more frequent

occurence of fog.This fog combines with the smoke of the power station to generate smoggy atmosphere in the area .The effect of the power station is not only limited to the power station due to the wind currents moving 

eastwards through northcentral regions leading to higher concentration of respiratory diseases in the area.

****Wind current map,@respiratory diseases map.

Another air pollutant that is not generally wellknown are the heavy metals generated by the burning of coal due to their particulate weight they can't travel vast distances via aircurrents and so

their effect can be seen in puttlam district itself as shown in the occurance of higher cancer patient frequency.In fact it is comparable to the highly aggricutural areas such as anuradhapura,polonnaruwa

recent Research has shown that there is a link between air pollutions and heart diseases amd our findings has also lead us to a similar observation in fact there is a notable majority of people with heart diseases in puttlam district compared to the surrounding districts such as mannar

and anuradhapura.