Closing coal factories leads to healthier babies: Areas that saw shutdowns have had a drop in preterm births and the rate of infant diseases, study reveals
研究顯示，關閉煤廠會讓嬰兒更健康：關閉煤廠的地區，早產率和嬰兒患病率都有所下降
Shutting down coal and oil-fired power stations leads to healthier babies, according to new research.
根據新的研究顯示，關閉煤廠和燃油發電站會讓嬰兒更健康。
Closing the polluting power plants lowers the rate of premature births in neighboring communities as well as improving fertility.
關閉汙染髮電廠降低了鄰近社區的早產率，也提高了生育率。
Researchers compared preterm births and fertility before and after eight power stations in California closed between 2001 and 2011, including San Francisco's Hunters Point plant in 2006.
研究人員比較了2001年至2011年期間加州8個發電站關閉前後的早產和生育能力，關閉的發電站包括2006年舊金山的獵人點電廠。
Overall, the percentage of preterm births - babies born before 37 weeks of gestation - dropped from seven percent during a year-long period before plant closure to 5.1 percent for the year after shutdown.
總的來說，早產嬰兒（在懷孕37周之前出生的嬰兒）的百分比在一年內從7%下降到5.1%。
The 20 to 25 percent drop in premature birthrates was larger than expected, but consistent with other studies linking birth problems to air pollution around power plants, according to the findings published in the American Journal of Epidemiology.
根據發表在《美國流行病學雜誌》上的研究，早產率下降20% - 25%，比預期的要大，但與其他的研究是一致的，這些研究都把出生問題與發電廠周圍的空氣汙染聯繫起來。
Another paper, published in the journal Environmental Health, used similar data and found that fertility - the number of live births per 1,000 women - increased around coal and oil power plants after closure.
發表在《環境健康》雜誌上的另一篇文章使用了類似的數據並發現，在煤油發電廠關閉後，附近的婦女們的生育能力——每1000名婦女的活產數量——增加了。
Lead author of the first study, postdoctoral fellow Dr Joan Casey, of University of California, Berkeley, said: 'We were excited to do a good news story in environmental health.
第一項研究的主要作者、加州大學伯克利分校的博士後研究員Joan Casey博士說:“我們很高興能在環境健康方面做一個好的新聞報道。
'Most people look at air pollution and adverse health outcomes, but this is the flip side.
大多數人關注空氣汙染和其對健康的不良影響，但我們的研究相反。
'We said, let's look at what happens when we have this external shock that removes air pollution from a community and see if we can see any improvements in health.'
我們旨在研究當我們從外部消除空氣汙染時，健康是否能得到改善。”
She said the findings could help policy makers more strategically plan the decommissioning of power plants as they build more renewable sources of energy, in order to have the biggest health impact.
她說，這些發現可以幫助決策者在建造更多的可再生能源時，更有策略地規劃發電廠的退役，以達到對健康最大的影響。
Co-author Professor Rachel Morello-Frosch, also of University of California, Berkeley, said: 'We believe that these papers have important implications for understanding the potential short-term community health benefits of climate and energy policy shifts and provide some very good news on that front.
合著者、加州大學伯克利分校的Rachel Morello-Frosch教授說:“我們認為這些文章有助於理解氣候和能源政策轉變對潛在的短期內改善社區健康的作用，並提供一些關於這方面非常好的消息。”
'These studies indicate short-term beneficial impacts on preterm birth rates overall and particularly for women of color.'
這些研究表明，總體上，對早產的有益影響是短期內的，對有色人種女性來說尤其如此。”
The researchers compared preterm birth rates in the first year following the closure date of each power station with the rate during the year starting two years before the plant's retirement, so as to eliminate seasonal effects on preterm births.
研究人員比較了每一個發電廠關閉前兩年和關閉後第一年的早產率，以消除對早產率的季節性影響。
Dividing the surrounding region into three concentric rings three miles wide, Dr Casey delved into state birth records to determine the rate of preterm births in each ring.
將周圍區域劃分為3英里寬的3個同心環，Casey博士研究了各州的出生記錄，以確定每個同心環區域內的早產率。
Those living in the closest ring, within three miles of the plant, saw the largest improvement: a drop from seven to 5.1 percent.
那些生活在距離核電站3英里以內的距離最近的環區內的人，有最大的改善：從7%下降到5.1%。
But people living in the next nearest zone showed less improvement.
但是生活在下一個最近地區的人們的改善卻沒有那麼大。
The researchers also considered the effects of winds on preterm birth rates, and though downwind areas seemed to exhibit greater improvements, the differences were not statistically significant.
研究人員還考慮了風對早產率的影響，雖然下風區域的改善似乎更大，但並沒有顯著差異。
As a control, they replicated their analysis around eight power stations that had not closed, and found no before-versus-after difference, which supported the results of their main analysis.
作為對照，他們在8個沒有關閉發電站的周圍進行了同樣的分析，沒有發現前後的差異，這與他們主要分析的結果一致。
There did not appear to be any effect on births before 32 weeks, which Dr Casey said may reflect the fact that very early births are a result of problems, genetic or environmental, more serious than air pollution.
Casey博士說，似乎沒有對32周之前的早產率產生任何影響，這可能反映了一個事實，即早產是由基因或比空氣汙染更嚴重的環境問題造成的。
She added: 'It would be good to look at this relationship in other states and see if we can apply a similar rationale to retirement of power plants in other places.'
她補充說:“最好在其他州也進行同樣的研究，看看我們是否能用類似的理由促使其他地方的發電廠關閉。”
Dr Pauline Mendola, of the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, said of the findings: 'Perhaps it's time for the health of our children to be the impetus behind reducing the common sources of ambient air pollution.
尤尼斯·肯尼迪·施萊弗國家兒童健康和人類發展研究所的Pauline Mendola博士說:“也許是時候為了我們孩子的健康，從各方面著手減少空氣汙染了。
'Their lives depend on it.'
這決定了他們的生活質量。”
中英雙語呈現，還可以加強英語學習哦！
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