Coal-fired power plants (CFPPs) are Malaysia’s primary electricity source, but their emissions adversely affect human health, organism growth, climate change, and the environment. The carbon, hydrogen, and sulphur content of coal make it a viable option for electricity generation. However, the by-products from leaching, volatilisation, melting, decomposition, oxidation, hydration, and other chemical reactions significantly negatively impact the environment and human health. This study aims to quantify the emissions from a coal-fired power plant, investigate the interplay between different emissions, simulate the dispersion of emissions, and assess their health impact through a health risk assessment. The results indicate that SO2 is the primary contributor to emissions and its impact on human health is a concern. The health effects, both chronic and acute, are more pronounced in children than in adults. This study combines real-time emissions data and simulations to assess emissions’ health impact, raising awareness about the emissions from coal-fired power plants. Furthermore, the findings can potentially enhance working conditions for employees and promote environmental health.

• Azmi, Y., M., Junidah, R., Mariam, S., Safiah, M. Y., Fatimah, S., Norimah, A. K, Poh, B. K, Kandiah, M, Zalilah, M. S, Manan, W. M. W. A., Siti, H. M. D. & Tahir, A. (2009). Body mass index (BMI) of adults: Findings of the Malaysian adult nutrition survey (MANS). Malaysian Journal of Nutrition, 15(2), 97-119.

• Babatunde, K. A., Said, F. F., Nor, N. G., & Begum, R. A. (2018). Reducing carbon dioxide emissions from Malaysian power sector: Current issues and future directions. Jurnal Kejuruteraan, 1(6), 59-69. http://dx.doi.org/10.17576/jkukm-2018-si1(6)-08

• Badman, D. D. G., & Jaffé, D. E. R. (1996). Blood and air pollution: State of knowledge and research needs. Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, 114(2), 205-208. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0194-59989670166-3

• Chalvatzaki, E., Chatoutsidou, S., Lehtomäki, H., Almeida, S., Eleftheriadis, K., Hänninen, O., & Lazaridis, M. (2019). Characterization of human health risks from particulate air pollution in selected European cities. Atmosphere, 10(2), Article 96. https://doi.org/10.3390/atmos10020096

• Clancy, L., Goodman, P., Sinclair, H., & Dockery, D. W. (2002). Effect of air-pollution control on death rates in Dublin, Ireland: An intervention study. The Lancet, 360(9341), 1210-1214. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(02)11281-5

• Combes, A., & Franchineau, G. (2019). Fine particle environmental pollution and cardiovascular diseases. Metabolism, 100, Article 153944. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.metabol.2019.07.008

• Das, A., Singh, G., Habib, G., & Kumar, A. (2018). Non-carcinogenic and carcinogenic risk assessment of trace elements of PM2.5 during winter and pre-monsoon seasons in Delhi: A case study. Exposure and Health, 12, 63-77. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12403-018-0285-y

• EPA. (1999). ALOHA User’s Manual. US Environmental Protection Agency. https://nepis.epa.gov/Exe/ZyPURL.cgi?Dockey=P1003UZB.TXT

• Gething, P. W., Smith, D. L., Patil, A. P., Tatem, A. J., Snow, R. W., & Hay, S. I. (2010). Climate change and the global malaria recession. Nature, 465(7296), 342-345. https://doi.org/10.1038/nature09098

• Hashim, J. H., & Hashim, Z. (2010). Guidance document on health impact assessment (HIA) in environmental impact assessment (EIA). Department of Environment Malaysia. https://mycep.doe.gov.my/guidelines/68e07de05a228b807477affcfae6685c.pdf

• Höglund, L., Räisänen, J., Hämäläinen, A. M., Warholm, M., Hagen, M. van der, Suleiman, A., Kristjánsson, V., Nielsen, E., & Kopp, T. I. (2012). Existing Default Values and Recommendations for Exposure Assessment - A Nordic Exposure Group Project 2011. Nordic Council of Ministers. https://doi.org/10.6027/TN2012-505

• Hurt, S., Ollinger, J., Arce, G., Bui, Q., Tobia, A. J., & van Ravenswaay, B. (2001). Chapter 81 - Dialkyldithiocarbamates (EBDCs). In R. Krieger, J. Douli, E. Hodgson & H. Maibach, (Eds.), Handbook of Pesticide Toxicology (Second Edition) (pp. 1702-1779). Elsevier. https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-012426260-7.50084-7

• Kelsall, J. E., Samet, J. M., Zeger, S. L., & Xu, J. (1997). Air pollution and mortality in Philadelphia, 1974-1988. American Journal of Epidemiology, 146(9), 750-762. https://doi.org/10.1093/oxfordjournals.aje.a009351

• Kenessary, D., Kenessary, A., Adilgireiuly, Z., Akzholova, N., Erzhanova, A., Dosmukhametov, A., Syzdykov, D., Masoud, A. R., & Saliev, T. (2019). Air pollution in Kazakhstan and its health risk assessment. Annals of Global Health, 85(1), Article 133. https://doi.org/10.5334/aogh.2535

• Khalid, N. A., Tohir, M. Z. M., , & Said, M. S. M. (2019). Consequence simulation of jet fire due to leakage of pipelines in a natural gas power plant in Malaysia. PERINTIS eJournal, 9(1), 15-29.

• Levy, J. I., Hammitt, J. K., Yanagisawa, Y., & Spengler, J. D. (1999). Development of a new damage function model for power plants: Methodology and applications. Environmental Science & Technology, 33(24), 4364-4372. https://doi.org/10.1021/es990634

• Mahlia, T. M. I. (2002). Emissions from electricity generation in Malaysia. Renewable Energy, 27(2), 293-300. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0960-1481(01)00177-X

• Malik, A. A., Nasif, M. S., Mokhtar, A. A., & Tohir, M. Z. M. (2021). Numerical investigation of the effect of weather conditions on the escalation and propagation of fire‐induced domino effect. Process Safety Progress, 40(4), 296-308.

• Malik, A. A., Nasif, M. S., Arshad, U., Mokhtar, A. A., Tohir, M. Z. M., & Al-Waked, R. (2023). Predictive modelling of wind-influenced dynamic fire spread probability in tank farm due to domino effect by integrating numerical simulation with ANN. Fire, 6(3), Article 85. https://doi.org/10.3390/fire6030085

• Miller, K. A., & Sullivan, J. H. (2007). Long-term exposure to air pollution and incidence of cardiovascular events in women. The New England Journal of Medicine, 356(5), 447-458. https://doi.org/10.1056/NEJMoa054409

• Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment. (2015). Malaysia Biennial Update Report to the UNFCCC. https://unfccc.int/sites/default/files/resource/MALBUR1.pdf

• Morakinyo, O. M., Mokgobu, M. I., Mukhola, M. S., & Engelbrecht, J. C. (2017). Health risk assessment of exposure to ambient concentrations of benzene, toluene and xylene in Pretoria West, South Africa. African Journal of Science, Technology, Innovation and Development, 9(4), 489-496. https://doi.org/10.1080/20421338.2017.1352123

• Munawer, M. E. (2018). Human health and environmental impacts of coal combustion and post-combustion wastes. Journal of Sustainable Mining, 17(2), 87-96. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jsm.2017.12.007

• National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI). (2010). National Research Council (US) Committee on Acute Exposure Guideline Levels. Acute Exposure Guideline Levels for Selected Airborne Chemicals: Volume 8. National Academies Press. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK219999/

• Patra, A. K., Gautam, S., & Kumar, P. (2016). Emissions and human health impact of particulate matter from surface mining operation - A review. Environmental Technology & Innovation, 5, 233-249. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eti.2016.04.002

• Peters, A., Perz, S., Doring, A., Stieber, J., Koenig, W., & Wichmann, H. E. (1999). Increases in heart rate during an air pollution episode. American Journal of Epidemiology, 150(10), 1094-1098. https://doi.org/10.1093/oxfordjournals.aje.a009934

• Ranjan, M. Z., Baharudin, B. T. H. T., Mahadi, M. R., & Baharudin, M. R. (2019). Developing a construction occupational safety and health risk assessment matrix (COSHRAM) with modifying risk factors. International Journal of Recent Technology and Engineering, 8, 301-307.

• Rao, K. S. (2005). Uncertainty analysis in atmospheric dispersion modelling. Pure and Applied Geophysics, 162, 1893-1917. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00024-005-2697-4

• Ren, T., & Patel, M. K. (2009). Basic petrochemicals from natural gas, coal and biomass: Energy use and CO2 emissions. Resources, Conservation and Recycling, 53(9), 513-528. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.resconrec.2009.04.005

• Robert, J. L., & Kevin R. C (2022). Personal interventions to reduce exposure to outdoor air pollution. Annual Review of Public Health, 43(1), 293-309. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-publhealth-052120-103607

• Shekarchian, M., Moghavvemi, M., Mahlia, T. M. I., & Mazandarani, A. (2011). A review on the pattern of electricity generation and emission in Malaysia from 1976 to 2008. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, 15(6), 2629-2642. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rser.2011.03.024

• Standard Australia Committee and Standard New Zealand Committee. (2015). Joint Standards Australia/Standards New Zealand Committee EV-007: Methods for Examination of Air. Stationary Source Emissions Part 3: Determination of Odour Concentration by Dynamic Olfactometry. https://www.saiglobal.com/PDFTemp/Previews/OSH/as/as4000/4300/43233.pdf

• The IBR Asia Group Sdn. Bhd. (2019). Towards a World-Class Energy Sector [ST(P)04/03/2019; p. 52]. Energy Commission. https://fliphtml5.com/vhro/clqa

• Vermont. (2020). Stack height and rain guard guidance. Department of Environmental Conservation. https://dec.vermont.gov/air-quality/permits/construction/stack-height-and-rain-guards

• Yakubu, O. (2017). Addressing environmental health problems in Ogoniland through implementation of united nations environment program recommendations: Environmental management strategies. Environments, 4(2), Article 28. https://doi.org/10.3390/environments4020028

• Yang, W., Burrows, T., MacDonald-Wicks, L., Williams, L., Collins, C., Chee, W., & Colyvas, K. (2017). Body weight status and dietary intakes of urban Malay primary school children: Evidence from the family diet study. Children, 4(1), Article 5. https://doi.org/10.3390/children4010005

• Zubir, A. A. M., Rusli, N. S., Alkarkhi, A. F. M., & Yusup, Y. (2017). Emission inventory for power plants and passenger cars in peninsular Malaysia for the years 2008-2014. In. Proceedings of the 5th International Conference on Environmental Research and Technology (pp. 404-410). School of Industrial Technology, USM.