In 2001, the Columbia Center for Children’s Environmental Health (CCCEH) launched a unique collaborative study in Chongqing, China to examine health outcomes in children who were exposed to pollution prenatally from a nearby coal-burning power plant. In the Chongqing municipality, the power plant was the major source of air pollution in the area. In 2004, officials shut down the plant, making the town an ideal study site, because health effects in children could be compared before and after the closure.

Investigators are examining how prenatal and early-life exposures to ambient air pollution affect children’s physical growth and cognitive development. The study is now tracking three cohorts of women and their children: one enrolled while the plant was still operational, and two enrolled after the shutdown of the facility. To date, preliminary results show that children’s birth and cognitive development outcomes improved following closure of the plant. Air-monitoring data also showed that between 2002 and 2005, harmful air pollution produced by coal burning decreased significantly.

For more information visit: http://www.ccceh.org