The Association of Coal-Fired Power Plants and the Mortality of COVID-19

Abstract

With the outbreak and spread of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (COVID-19), the world was ushered into a global pandemic. One of the most alarming aspects of the disease is the high mortality rate. Previous research has shown that long term exposure to air pollution has been correlated with the mortality rate of respiratory diseases. The focus of this study was to determine if there was any association between the mortality of COVID-19 and one of the primary producers of air pollution, coal-fired power plants. Using data from the US Energy Information Administration, John Hopkins University, and census department, a chi-square test and a poisson regression analysis were conducted to determine if living in proximity to coal-fired power plants had any effects on the mortality of COVID-19. The chi-square test results showed that there was no statistical significance as the variables showed independence. These results illustrate that there is no association between coal-fired power plants and the mortality rate of COVID-19. To expand on the results of the chi-square test, a poisson regression analysis was performed to account for the presence of confounding variables. This analysis showed similar results to the chi-square test, but due to issues with outliers in the data causing overdispersion, the model was unable to be accurately conducted, making all results inconclusive. With the inconclusive results of the poisson regression analysis, the conclusions drawn from the chi-square test were not able to be generalized as they were not verified in the presence of confounding variables.