Studies
Falling behind: life expectancy in US counties from 2000 to 2007 in an international context
Wednesday, June 1st, 2011
In this study, an analysis of life expectancy on the county level showed that all of the eight counties in Kentucky where ICG and Frasure Creek operate mountaintop removal mines are among the bottom 10% of US counties in terms of life expectancy, and all but two of these counties have seen a decrease in life expectancy over the past 10 years. Two of the counties, Perry and Pike, which happen to be the two biggest coal producing counties in Kentucky, were both among the bottom 10 (out of 3,147 counties) for trends in life expectancy between 1997 and 2007. While nationwide life expectancy increased by 1.5 years over the decade, average life expectancy in these two counties actually decreased by about a year. In West Virginia, Mingo, Logan, and McDowell counties (all of which are heavily burdened by mountaintop removal) are in the bottom 1% in the nation. The surrounding counties including Lincoln, Boone, and Wyoming are in the bottom 10%.
Kulkarni, SC., A. Levin-Rector, M. Ezzati and C. Murray. “Falling behind: life expectancy in US counties from 2000 to 2007 in an international context”. Population Health Metrics. 9(2011): 16.
