Health consequences of a drought: the use of thermoelectric power plants

• Grant number: 19/07813-3
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships abroad - Research Internship - Doctorate
• Start date: September 02, 2019
• End date: March 27, 2020
• Field of knowledge: Applied Social Sciences - Economics - Agrarian and Natural Resource Economics
• Principal Investigator: Ariaster Baumgratz Chimeli
• Grantee: Tales Rozenfeld
• Supervisor: Rodrigo Reis Soares
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Economia, Administração e Contabilidade (FEA). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). São Paulo , SP, Brazil
• Institution abroad: Columbia University in the City of New York, United States
• Associated to the scholarship: 17/23801-0 - The effect of a drought on consumers' choices and health outcomes, BP.DR

Abstract

Mounting evidence suggests that a severe drought might have deleterious effects on health outcomes of the population. This study intends to explore health consequences of a drought in a specific situation from regions where the power sector is supplied by a mix of hydro and thermoelectric power plants. In this situation, a drought might reduce the capacity of generating electricity through hydroelectric sources forcing authorities to rely on thermoelectric power plants. This type of power plant is a notorious stationary source of air pollution and can have deleterious impacts on population's health. Investigating the Brazilian scenario, we will evaluate if exposure to operational thermoelectric power plants affects birth outcomes and hospitalization by air-related diseases in neighboring communities.