A new study has found that Bitcoin mining is contributing to harmful air pollutants, with fine particles emitted by the operations crossing national borders, impacting regions far from the mines themselves.
According to the researchers, authors of this groundbreaking study published in the journal Nature Communications , from August 2022 to July 2023, about 1.9 million Americans were exposed to high concentrations of these small particles.
Affected areas include New York City, the Houston/Austin metropolitan area, northeast Texas and areas along the Illinois-Kentucky border.
“Interstate Pollution”
A research team led by Dr. Francesca Dominici of the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health found that Bitcoin mining often leads to increased electricity production at coal-fired power plants.
By collecting data from 34 of the largest Bitcoin miners in the US, the researchers argue that the activity of one miner in one state can force a power plant in another state to burn more coal or gas, leading to air pollution in other regions.
This creates a difficult situation for the victims.
For example, electricity from a mine in North Carolina increased the load on a coal-fired power plant in Kentucky, which subsequently worsened air quality in Illinois, without residents having the ability to immediately sue either the mine or the power plant.
However, because the affected areas are in a different state from where the pollutants originate, this creates a regulatory gap.
A number of “possible policy mechanisms” could help address the “interstate pollution” problem, one of the authors, Dr. Scott Delaney, told Decrypt in an email interview. “However, this requires federal intervention.”
Dr. Delaney specifically suggests that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency implement a “Good Neighbor” rule for PM2.5 (fine particulate matter) air pollution.
The rule would require downwind states to more aggressively monitor emissions from power plants, and could also create programs to encourage responsible siting of mining operations and data centers to reduce health impacts, Delaney suggested.
Crypto and more
The results of the study are relevant not only for cryptocurrency.
Last month, Decrypt reported a decline in profits among publicly traded Bitcoin mining companies.
This trend has prompted some miners to switch from cryptocurrency to AI technologies.
“Bitcoin mining and AI infrastructure require large data centers, and much of the hardware used to mine bitcoin can be repurposed for other purposes,” Delaney explained.
The study was conducted against the backdrop of increased support for the cryptocurrency industry from US President Donald Trump.
During the election campaign for his second term, Trump met with Bitcoin miners and said he wanted all Bitcoin to be produced in America.
Earlier this month, Trump signed an executive order to increase the country's coal production.
The researchers who conducted the study warned that further expansion of Bitcoin mining and AI infrastructure could have serious environmental consequences.
Researchers told Decrypt that if the US pursues policies that allow coal-fired power plants to remain operational after their scheduled closure, “the pollution they produce will become even more toxic.”
Source: cryptonews.net
