Katy Daigle

Associated Press

In this Sept. 21, 2017 photo, petroleum coke, the grainy black byproduct of refining Canadian tar sands oil, is visible at the BP Whiting refinery in East Chicago, Ind. The U.S. is the world's largest producer and exporter of 'petcoke,' with the largest share being shipped to India in recent years. The high-carbon, high-sulfur fuel is dirtier than coal, and has been burned unregulated in Indian factories and power plants, contributing to that nation's already-high air pollution levels.

U.S. Exports Dirty Fuel to India

Petroleum coke is cheaper and burns hotter than coal, but it contains far more heart- and lung-damaging sulfur.

Morning smog envelops the skyline in Mumbai, India, Friday, Oct. 20, 2017. Environmental pollutants are killing at least 9 million people and costing the world $4.6 trillion a year, a toll exceeding that of wars, smoking, hunger or natural disasters. One out of every six premature deaths in the world in 2015, about 9 million, could be attributed to disease from toxic exposure.

Pollution Deadlier Than War

Pollution is killing more people every year than all war and violence in the world.

Hindu priests offer prayers to Varuna, the Hindu god of rain as they pray for rains standing in the waters at the Osman Sagar Lake on the outskirts of Hyderabad, India.The seasonal monsoon, which hits the region between June and September, delivers more than 70 percent of India's annual rainfall. Its arrival is eagerly awaited by hundreds of millions of subsistence farmers across the country, and delays can ruin crops or exacerbate drought.In an effort to better understand and predict South Asia's seasonal monsoon, British scientists are getting ready to release robots into the Bay of Bengal in a study of how ocean conditions might affect rainfall patterns.

Robots to Swim in Bay of Bengal in Monsoon Study

Torpedo-shaped robots are programmed to navigate up and down to a depth of 3,280 feet, measuring the water salinity, temperature and current and transmitting the data to a satellite.

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Water Dispute Halts Bottling at Coke Plant

The plant is still being used for storage and other operations, and could be re-opened "should there be a change in demand and volume".