Impactos socioambientais devidos à geração de energia elétrica de carvão mineral no Município de Figueira (Estado do Paraná, Sul do Brasil)

Abstract

Socio-environmental impacts due to the electric power generation at the Figueira Coal Power Plant (Paraná State, Southern Brazil). Among various sources of electricity generation in the world, coal-fired power plants are the ones that contribute the most to the electricity supply, however they emit large amounts of pollutants into the atmosphere. The present study intends to quantify the health effects due to pollutant emissions produced around the coal power plant at Municipality Figueira, located in Paraná State, Brazil, which have 20 MW of electrical generation capacity. This study is carried out in two areas: one of 25 km2 comprehending the Muicipality of Figueira and another of 2,500 km2 in the vicinity of the plant. To calculate the socio-environmental impacts caused by the operation of the plant, SIMPACTS is used, which estimates and quantifies the costs of environmental and health damage due to the emissions of SOx, NOx and particulate matter, MP10, in addition to showing its dispersion in the surroundings of the power plant. The impacts on Municipality of Figueira costs an average of US$ 56.60/GWh, reaching a total of US$ 127.60/GWh in the year of higher pollution. Taking into account the surrounding region (2,500 km2), the average cost of impacts from pollution increases to US$ 4,475.50/GWh, with a peak of US$ 17,675.30/GWh, in 2017. The results show a disparity in socio-environmental impacts between the years of highest and lowest emission of pollutants, which may indicate that strict control of emissions can cause a significant reduction in them.