Compendium "Impact of Electric Power Generation on Health Issues“

Project Number 326

In connection with the construction of power plants possible physical effects play an increasingly dominant role in public discussions. Thus, within this project a compendium regarding the impact of coal-fired and nuclear power plants on health issues will be established.

This compendium turns to doctors and other comparable groups, who deal with physical aspects of power plants. Scientifically founded arguments, indications of non-existing knowledge as well as current subject-specific discussions are basis of the compendium. Therefore, the pollution caused by power plants is to be put into relation to the pollution caused by other pollution emitters (industry, traffic, household) in order to get a realistic environmental medical result.

The work of the compendium shall primarily take place on the basis of the evaluation of the investigation, which led to derivations of current limit values. In the context of a first subproject such as "fine dust“ a specific methodology shall be developed applicable to national law in order to handle the complex topic. This methodology can be applied to other pollution factors and can be amended to European law.

The project will be carried out between May 2009 and April 2010 headed by Edgar Neuhalfen, TÜV Rheinland Industrie Service GmbH, in close co-operation with a project group of VGB member companies, which named experts from the fields environmental protection and industrial medicine. The VGB General Committee Environmental Technology, Chemistry, Safety and Health is accompanying the project.