The Links Between Burning Coal and Neurological Diseases

By Alan H. Lockwood and Md
Published on October 3, 2013
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“The Silent Epidemic,” by physician Alan H. Lockwood, elaborately analyzes burning coal from mining and makeup to disposal and the health effects of its air pollution.
“The Silent Epidemic,” by physician Alan H. Lockwood, elaborately analyzes burning coal from mining and makeup to disposal and the health effects of its air pollution.
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Alan H. Lockwood, MD, is Emeritus Professor of Neurology and Nuclear Medicine at the State University of New York at Buffalo. He is the lead author of a Physician for Social Responsibility report on coal's adverse health effects.
Alan H. Lockwood, MD, is Emeritus Professor of Neurology and Nuclear Medicine at the State University of New York at Buffalo. He is the lead author of a Physician for Social Responsibility report on coal's adverse health effects.
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The possible link between airborne pollutants and neurodegenerative diseases is still very speculative. However, it may ultimately be extremely important because of the very large and growing number of patients with Alzheimer’s disease and the financial and societal impacts of this terrible illness.
The possible link between airborne pollutants and neurodegenerative diseases is still very speculative. However, it may ultimately be extremely important because of the very large and growing number of patients with Alzheimer’s disease and the financial and societal impacts of this terrible illness.

Alan H. Lockwood, MD, is Emeritus Professor of Neurology and Nuclear Medicine at the State University of New York at Buffalo as well as the lead author of the Physicians for Social Responsibility report on coal’s adverse health effects. In The Silent Epidemic (MIT Press, 2012), Lockwood describes and documents the adverse health effects of burning coal by examining every aspect of coal, from its complex chemical makeup to details of mining, transporting, burning and disposal — each of which generates significant health concerns. Relatively few people are aware of the health threats posed by coal-derived pollutants, and those who are aware lack the political clout of the coal industry. Read the scientific studies that connects burning coal and other air pollution with neurological diseases such as Alzheimer’s Disease, Parkinson’s Disease and Diabetes Mellitus. This excerpt is taken from chapter 11, “Health Effects on the Horizon.”

You can purchase this book from the MOTHER EARTH NEWS store:The Silent Epidemic.

There are things we don’t know we don’t know.

 — Donald Rumsfeld

It is hard to imagine that there was a time when chimneys belching clouds of black acrid smoke were seen as a sign of industrial prowess and economic vigor rather than a threat to health. At one time physicians appeared in advertisements touting the benefits of smoking cigarettes! Advances in knowledge change the way we look at our environment and how it impacts health. Where are the holes in our vision and what surprises are ahead? This chapter addresses that question using very early, sometimes provocative data to discuss what might emerge in the future and be placed on the growing list of health effects of the pollutants generated by burning coal.

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